Sir Philip Green has broken his silence on the BHS affair, saying he is “sad” that he does not get more credit for paying £363m into the insolvent chain’s pensions pot and insisting the collapse was not his fault.
Asked by the Mail on Sunday if any of the BHS scandal was his fault, Green said: “No. Zero. Nothing.”
He added: “We didn’t go as a vulture and bankrupt it, try to keep it all to ourselves. That was the stupidity. Trying to do it the correct way turned out to be a disaster.”
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He told the newspaper that selling the high-street stalwart to failed businessman Dominic Chappell for £1 in 2015 was “the worst mistake of my life”, adding: “My family lost millions on BHS.”
Green said: “I and our board were wholly misled by everyone involved with [Chappell]. Was it the worst mistake of my life? Yes, it was. Horrible. Ugly.”
BHS Ltd, which began life as British Home Stores in 1928, went into administration in April 2016 and was liquidated in December that year leaving a huge pensions black hole.
Green was asked to explain his conduct to MPs and found himself described as the unacceptable face of capitalism.
