BHS: Calls for Sir Philip Green to be stripped of his knighthood as 'moral pressure' builds

Tory MP Richard Fuller accused Sir Philip of being a Judas in the House of Commons on Monday

Sir Philip sold BHS for £1 in 2015 to little known investors, leaving it with a pensions deficit of £571 million for which he is now on the hook (Getty Images)

Sir Philip Green is facing calls to be stripped of his knighthood after it was revealed that he took out more than £580 million from the company.

Sir Philip sold BHS for £1 in 2015 to little known investors, leaving it with a pensions deficit of £571 million for which he is now on the hook.

Julie Palmer, regional manager at business restructuring specialists Begbies Traynor, told the BBC that the amount of money Sir Philip took out of the company since 2000 will be looked at very carefully by BHS administrators Duff & Phelps as they look to see what they can preserve from the collapsing business.

"[Sir Philip] is an astute businessman, I imagine he was advised and that all of that was done properly. There's a moral issue that if we are facing a pensions deficit of £571 million do we look beyond the boundaries of legality at propriety instead? I understand he already is in discussions to make a voluntary payment which suggests he is aware," Palmer said.

"I don't think the administrator will [bring moral pressure into it] but there are MPs already on the case. There are calls about whether he should be able to keep his knighthood. That's all part of the pressure that is beginning to build," she added.

Sir Philip is reported to have offered £80 million towards the cost of BHS pensions, but he has been accused of leaving others to make up the rest by the shadow business leader Angela Eagle.

“If the worst happens the liability will be covered by the pensions protection scheme and BHS staff will get only 90% of the pension they've worked so hard for and saved for. But Philip Green seems to have got much more out of BHS for himself and his family than that," Ms Eagle said.

“BHS staff and the public will understandably want to know whether the former owner who took so many millions of pounds out of the business will have to pay his fair share of the liabilities which accrued during his stewardship," she added.

The pensions regulator has said it will investigate the BHS scheme to see what action is taken. Chris Martin, chairman of the BHS Pension Trustees, told the BBC that he has heard from many concerned members. He said that the government-backed Pension Protection Fund means that many owed BHS pensions are in a better position than they might otherwise have been.

Dominic Chapell, the ex-racing driver and bankrupt at the head of Retail Acquisitions when they bought BHS from Sir Philip for £1, said that no one was to blame for the company going into administration.

In a letter to staff, he wrote: "I would like to say it has been a real pleasure working with all of you on the BHS project, one I will never forget, you all need to keep you heads held high, you have done a great job and remember that it was always going to be very very hard to turn around."

But MPs rounded on Sir Philip in the House of Commons on Monday. Tory MP Richard Fuller accused Sir Philip of being a Judas by "betraying" employees and pensioners, while his Tory colleague Mark Field called for an urgent inquiry into his conduct.

Iain Wright, Labour chairman of the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee, said: “It cannot possibly be right that Sir Philip Green, as the previous owner of the company, loaded it up with debt, did not invest in the business and paid his wife over £400 million in dividends via the tax haven of Monaco.”

Diane Abbott, Labour MP for Hackney North, accused Sir Philip of asset stripping on Twitter. "BHS paid more than £25 million to new owners in 13 months before going into administration #assetstripping," she tweeted.

BHS went into administration on April 25, putting 11,000 jobs at risk and threatening the future of 164 UK stores.

Administrators will now look at salvaging value from the business in talks with suppliers, employees and other interested parties, although it is unlikely to find a new buyer.

BHS has been given six months to reach a deal over the funding of the pension scheme. Sir Philip is under pressure to extend his existing offer of £40 million in cash and a further £40 million writeoff of a charge relating to BHS assets held by Arcadia.