Topshop potshot: IoD savages Sir Philip Green’s ‘lamentable failures’

TOPSHOP boss Sir Philip Green has been slammed over BHS’s collapse by the head of the INSTITUTE OF DIRECTORS.
In an unusually strong outburst, Simon Walker said the tycoon had shown “a lamentable failure of behaviour” over the failed chain.

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He said Sir Philip had “moral responsibilities” to BHS’s staff, adding the collapse could “be deeply damaging to the reputation of British business”.
Sir Philip paid up to £400million in dividends to his family in 15 years running BHS. Last year he sold it to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for £1 but it collapsed in April.

Mr Walker said: “You can’t get yourself off the hook by selling a business to someone who’s been bankrupt three times and is a former racing driver with no retail experience.”
It emerged last night that Sir Philip rejected two offers for BHS from Chappell in the months before selling it to him.

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And it was revealed that Chappell texted BHS chief exec Darren Topp this week, calling him a “f***ing pr**k”.
The message, sent hours after administrators confirmed they would be shutting all of BHS’s 163 shops, added: “I hope you are happy you got the outcome you wanted.”