Philip Green Acted 'Like Napoleon' Over BHS

Sir Philip Green behaved "like Napoleon" as he "plundered" BHS, a senior MP has told Sky News.

Frank Field, chairman of the Commons Work and Pensions Committee, said the former boss of the collapsed high street chain was to blame for the "disaster" and said his reputation as the King of the High Street "lies in the ruins" of the failed firm.

He also said Sir Philip was "much worse" than disgraced media mogul Robert Maxell, who emptied Mirror Group newspaper group's pension pot.

The damning criticism came as a parliamentary inquiry branded the former boss of the collapsed high street chain the "unacceptable face of capitalism".

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The scathing report by two Commons select committees found Sir Philip had accrued "incredible wealth" for himself and his family, while refusing to address the "substantial" deficit in the company's pension fund.

Members of the Work and Pensions and Business committees said Sir Philip had a "moral duty" to make a "large financial contribution" to the 20,000 pensioners facing substantial cuts to their benefits.

The committees' joint report was also critical of Dominic Chappell, who bought the company for £1.

He was described as being "out of his depth" and was accused of having "had his hands in the till",

But they argued the ultimate responsibility for the downfall lay with Sir Philip.

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They said it was "inconceivable" Sir Philip had not realised Mr Chappell, a former bankrupt with no retail experience, was a "manifestly unsuitable" buyer and that he had "acted to conceal the true state of the BHS pension problem" from him.

The findings come just days after the Cabinet Office disclosed that it was reviewing Sir Philip's knighthood after calls for him to be stripped of the honour.

Mr Field said: "His family took out of BHS...a fortune beyond the dreams of avarice, and he's still to make good his boast of 'fixing' the pension fund. What kind of man is it who can count his fortune in billions but does not know what decent behaviour is?"

When Sir Philip acquired BHS in 2000 for £200m, the MPs' report said the company pension schemes were in surplus, but the high level of dividends paid out - more than double the after-tax profits of £208m between 2002-04 - had left it weakened.

Although he had been aware of the growing problem with the pension fund, he had resisted calls to deal with it, primarily because he did not want to reveal details of his past business dealings to the Pensions Regulator.

The deal with his junior business associate, Mr Chappell, was completed in March 2015 and 13 months later in April BHS went into administration.

Last week, Sky News revealed that the BHS brand will disappear from British high streets on 20 August with the closure of the stricken chain's final stores. The remaining 114 BHS shops will cease trading within four weeks, although many will close their doors for the last time before that date.

More than 11,000 employees are now facing unemployment, and 20,000 pension scheme members could see devastating cuts to their retirement benefits.

There has been no immediate response to the report from Sir Philip or Mr Chappell.

A Government spokesman said it highlighted the need "to tackle corporate irresponsibility and reform capitalism".