BHS Crisis Spurs Call For Tough Director Test

A co-chair of parliament’s inquiry into the collapse of BHS is demanding the extension of tests to assess company directors’ suitability, and raised fresh questions about the stewardship of Sir Philip Green’s business empire.

Sky News can disclose that Frank Field plans to raise concerns with Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, about possible gaps in Britain's corporate governance regime.

The Labour MP, who was threatened with legal action this week by Sir Philip after alleging that he had "plundered" BHS's pension schemes, said this week's report highlighted the need for tougher rules to apply to privately owned companies, and for watchdogs to be handed additional powers to enforce them.

Mr Field's call will further inflame his feud with Sir Philip, whose Arcadia Group owns high street brands such as TopShop, Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge.

:: Ex-BHS Boss Green: Report 'Biased And Unfair'

"The question must now be asked whether Sir Philip Green can be trusted at the tiller of Arcadia, another private company with thousands of employees, a massive pension deficit and a near identical cast of yes-men on the board.

"Would you trust him with your pension? Your job?," Mr Field asked.

He said the inquiry had exposed the fact that some governance rules applied only to publicly listed companies, and even then only on a 'comply or explain' basis.

"They are not enforceable by the Financial Reporting Council, and they do not apply to private companies, as was pointed out to us by Sir Philip's non-executive chair Lord Grabiner," he added.

"Safeguards for important private companies may need to be reviewed."

The report published this week by two select committees accused the key players in BHS's demise, including Dominic Chappell, of operating "a circular firing squad" in an effort to evade responsibility.

Sir Philip promised to address the £600m-plus deficit in BHS's pension schemes, and is in the initial phase of discussions with the Pensions Regulator about how to plug the hole.

Mr Field said the collapse of BHS, with 11,000 jobs set to disappear by 20 August, when the final BHS stores close, raised a "severe question [about] the suitability of the protagonists in this extraordinary tale - and their sidekicks - to be afforded these responsibilities again."

"I will be seeking assurances from the Business Secretary that those who have proven themselves unsuitable stewards of companies with thousands of employees - and huge pensions obligations - will not be given the opportunity to repeat their terrible mistakes," he added.

Sir Philip declined to comment.