“He’s the man who put BS into BHS”: Here are the best reactions to the select committee report on the demise of BHS

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Sir Philip Green has taken a bashing this morning, after MPs described him as the "unacceptable face of capitalism" in a report on the demise of BHS.

Here are the reactions to their damning verdict of Green and the company he ran "like a medieval fiefdom" – not all of them have been negative.

Read more: Sir Philip Green leadership failure and personal greed led to collapse of BHS, MPs say

Vince Cable asked "Where are his friends now?"

Well, Green does still have at least one friend. On Good Morning Britain, Piers Morgan described Green as "charitable".

He said: "I know him and he feels very bad about all of this. Over the years, he's been incredibly generous especially when it comes to charities. He is a very charitable and generous guy.

"Just knowing him, I am sure he will do something to help these people."

And, of course, Morgan then became embroiled in a Twitter argument.

Bookmaker Paddy Power has made it odds-on (4/6) that Green will be stripped of his knighthood, saying: "He's the man who put BS into BHS, and just about public enemy number one at the moment."

Writing for Morning Wire, Richard Graham MP, a member of the joint select committee that inquired into BHS, said: "We learnt, above all else, that BHS was run like a medieval fiefdom, with absolute control by the Boss, shaky governance, and only lip service responsibility to its defined benefit pension fund."

Oliver Parry, head of corporate governance at the Institute of Directors said BHS' collapse "casts a long shadow over British business".

He said: "Green's swashbuckling spirit may have helped him build a large retail empire but, once he reached the top, he does not seem to have taken to heart what responsibility for this number of staff and pensioners means.

Read more: Sir Philip Green ran BHS like a medieval fiefdom, now his reputation hangs by a thread

"The business community will be very worried about the damage this episode will do to public faith in capitalism."

Dave Gill, national officer for the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers, said: "Sir Philip Green made two promises to BHS staff after the company went into administration. First, to offer employment within the Arcadia Group to the blameless, dedicated and loyal staff who suddenly find themselves unemployed. Second, to 'sort' the pension scheme and we await details of what he proposes. We need him to come good on these commitments as soon as possible."

Read more: Chappell says BHS didn't fail because of the money he took out of it

Steve Webb, director of policy at Royal London said: "Whether Philip Green has a legal duty to top up the BHS pension scheme will be decided by the Pensions Regulator. But this report shows that he has a clear moral duty to do so.

"Sir Philip Green has no excuse for being so apparently unaware of his responsibilities towards the company pension scheme and it is now time for action to deal with the problem."