Arcadia boss Sir Philip Green could face grilling from two separate MP committees over BHS’ demise and £571m pension shortfall
Update: The most recent owners of BHS will be called in front of MPs, according to reports.
MPs on the business, innovation and skills (BIS) select committee will call them in to give evidence, Sky News has reported.
Meanwhile, the Work and Pensions select committee has said it will call former BHS boss Sir Philip Green to give evidence over the retailer's £571m pension deficit – as it appears increasingly likely MPs on the BIS committee will do likewise.
The WPC, which is headed by Frank Field MP, named the retail tycoon as it released details of a formal inquiry into the impact of BHS' pensions liability on the Pension Protection Fund.
Other witnesses include the PPF's Alan Rubenstein, Lesley Titcomb from The Pensions Regulator, "other owners of businesses subject to recent cases" and the minister for pensions Ros Altmann.
Arcadia could not be reached for a comment at the time of publication.
Field said: “We need as a committee to look at the Pension Protection Fund and how the receipt of pension liabilities of BHS will impact on the increases in the levy that will now be placed on all other eligible employers to finance the scheme.
"We will then need to judge whether the law is strong enough to protect future pensioners’ contracts in occupational schemes.”
The Business, Innovation and Skills committee is expected to announce some work in this area later this week – the two committees are also discussing the possibility of joint work.
On Monday, Tory MP Richard Fuller told the House of Commons: “If that sale [in 2015] was done on the understanding that [Green] was avoiding a responsibility for those pension losses, then that £1 was equivalent to 30 pieces of silver and is a betrayal of the employees and pensioners at BHS.”