‘Sir Shifty’ Philip Green’s payment of £363 million is not enough; this brash bully should also be stripped of his title
As Steven Berkoff set out here previously, Sir Philip Green – AKA ‘Sir Shifty’ – is a man of straw. He is dodgy, devious and an asset stripper and that he destroyed BHS yet has got away with it is an utter disgrace.
Yesterday, in agreeing to pay £363 million ($449 million, €426 million or درهم1.6 billion) to rescue the BHS pension scheme, Sir Philip partly plugged the £571 million ($706 million, €670 million or درهم2.6 billion) deficit the firm was left with when it went bust last April.
Of the move, the brash, boat loving bully remarked Tuesday:
“I have today made a voluntary contribution of up to £363m to enable the trustees of the BHS Pension schemes to achieve a significantly better outcome than the schemes entering the Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which was the goal from the outset”.
“The settlement follows lengthy, complex discussions with the Pensions Regulator and the PPF, both of which are satisfied with the solution that has been offered”.
“To achieve a significantly better outcome than entering the PPF, the contribution required to achieve this long-term solution was arrived at by the actuaries for both The Regulator and the trustees”.
“All relevant notices, including legal matters and claims from the regulator, have been withdrawn bringing this matter to a conclusion”.
“Once again I would like to apologise to the BHS pensioners for this last year of uncertainty, which was clearly never the intention when the business was sold in March 2015”.
“I am also happy to confirm that any of the pensioners that have faced cuts over the last year will now be brought back to their original BHS starting level pension and will all be made whole”.
“I hope that this solution puts their minds at rest and closes this sorry chapter for them”.
In reality, Sir Philip has got off lightly. He may be a few million down but he has avoided a more detailed investigation into his affairs and he has avoided having to give up the title he and his wife so flashly coveted. The party will continue for the Greens but they should remember this: Decent people everywhere will always remember them for what they truly are and if Theresa May had any nouse, she’d order him stripped of his title.