Investigation into BHS pension scandal sparks bumper payday for lawyers and accountants

THE investigation into the BHS pension scandal has turned into a bumper payday for lawyers and accountants.

The Pensions Regulator  has said it spent £46,533 last year on outside experts.

It added that costs for the current year had topped £1.3million by the end of October.

A spokesperson told The Sun: “Where we have had to use our anti-avoidance powers, we have recovered over £650million for pension schemes.

“This is  significantly  in excess of what it cost us to pursue the cases.”

The watchdog  started legal proceedings against former BHS owners Sir Philip Green and Dominic Chappell, having failed to strike a deal to plug the pensions black hole.

BHS’s collapse in April cost  11,000 workers  their jobs and left its pension scheme  with a deficit of more than £570million.

Sir Philip, top, sold the failed retailer to Retail Acquisitions, a consortium that was led by former bankrupt  Chappell, for £1 in March 2015.

Meanwhile, experts warn  BHS pensioners could end up waiting years to see whether the billionaire will bail out their scheme.

If no deal is struck, the ­Pension Protection Fund will step in, meaning that the BHS pensioners will see around 85 per cent of their pensions.

John Ralfe, an ­independent pensions expert,   said the wrong kind of deal with BHS’s former owners could  see many lower-paid workers end up worse off.