Ashley will face UK lawmakers if they visit Sports Direct first

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley has agreed to face British lawmakers' questions in parliament about the treatment of workers at his sportswear retailer, but only if they visit his headquarters first, a parliamentary committee said on Tuesday.

In March, Parliament's Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Committee formally summoned Ashley to appear before it on June 7.

Ashley, however, refused to attend, saying the proposal was an abuse of parliamentary process.

He has now had a change of heart, though his attendance is conditional.

"There was a letter last night from Mr Ashley in which he places a condition on attending the committee's (June 7) evidence session; the condition being that MPs visit Shirebrook by June 6," said a spokesman for the BIS committee.

He said the committee would consider Ashley's letter at its meeting next week.

Parliament can in theory order a person's imprisonment for contempt, although its powers on such actions are untested in recent times, according to a government paper published in 2012.

Ashley is deputy chairman of Sports Direct, holding 55 percent of its equity, and also owns Newcastle United soccer club.

A spokesman for Ashley could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sports Direct has rejected criticism it effectively pays some staff at its main warehouse in Shirebrook, central England, below the legal minimum wage.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Sports Direct, which has issued two profit warnings this year, have slumped 43 percent in 2016 and in March the firm lost its place in Britain's FTSE 100 index of blue chip companies. (Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Mark Potter)