Ex-BHS Owner In 'Nicking Money' Claim Row

Sir Philip Green has demanded an apology after an MP leading a probe into the collapse of BHS accused his Arcadia empire of "nicking money".

Frank Field, chairman of the Work and Pensions committee, called for a "very large cheque" from the Green family to fill the pensions black hole left by the retailer's collapse this year and said the City was furious with Arcadia's behaviour.

But Sir Philip said it was an "outrageous outburst" and that "accusing me and my family of theft is totally false and unacceptable".

The billionaire Topshop tycoon is under the spotlight following the collapse of BHS, a year after he sold it to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell for £1. The collapse left a £571m pension black hole and 11,000 jobs facing the axe.

MPs on the Work and Pensions committee and the Business, Innovation and Skills committee are conducting a joint inquiry - which has already heard evidence from Sir Philip, who pledged to fix the pensions deficit.

In its latest hearing, members grilled Arcadia executives including finance director Paul Budge, who said "if Sir Philip says he's going to fix it, he's going to fix it".

Mr Field said: "If Sir Philip was serious he could today settle the pension issue. We are fed up with hearing 'I am about to fix it.' He does not fix it.

"What is required is a very large cheque from the Green family, that have done so well out of the whole of this exploitation.

"The City is furious with your behaviour, the image you have put over, that business is not about creating jobs, about spreading wealth, it's about nicking money off other people.

"That is what we have seen, and we have got left very vulnerable pensioners and very vulnerable people trying to find a job in the labour market. Sir Philip could fix this today if he was serious."

But Sir Philip later hit back in a statement, saying: "Mr Field's outrageous outburst today demonstrated yet again his clear prejudice against myself, my wife and my executives, who turned up for a second time.

"He arrived very late, offered no apology, heard no evidence, clearly just to put on a 10-minute show and was extremely rude. Accusing me and my family of theft is totally false and unacceptable on any basis.

"The committee was yesterday made fully aware of the fact that a solution for the BHS pension funds is being worked on. His behaviour is as far as you can get from being helpful to anyone in this situation.

"Mr Field needs to apologise for his shocking and offensive behaviour."

The spat is not the first between the retail mogul and the MP.

Sir Philip has previously called for Mr Field to quit his role leading the inquiry, accusing him of being prejudiced because he called for the businessman to lose his knighthood if he did not take responsibility for the pensions deficit.

The latest row came as MPs also heard that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) was reviewing its decade-long relationship with Sir Philip in the wake of the collapse of BHS.

Michael Sherwood, the Europe boss of the Wall Street giant - which provided informal advice on the sale to Mr Chappell last year - said Goldman's involvement in the saga had not enhanced its reputation.

Mr Sherwood also appeared to contradict Sir Philip's evidence that he would not have sold BHS to Mr Chappell had he failed the bank's "sniff test".