Baroness Brady has refused to condemn Sir Philip Green (who she is seen with) despite criticising other rich men facing similar claims
Baroness Brady has refused to condemn Sir Philip Green despite criticising other rich men facing similar allegations.
The Apprentice star said she would not be resigning as chairman of Taveta Investments – which owns Sir Philip’s Arcadia Group – asking, ‘Why should I?’
The comments were made outside her £3million Knightsbridge home and are her first public comments on the scandal since it broke three months ago.
She refused to speak to a reporter from The Sunday Telegraph but made her views clear by saying the claims against Sir Philip had been ‘denied’.
The newspaper sent her a written list of questions on Friday, which included asking for her opinion on non-disclosure agreements used to silence the mogul’s alleged victims.
She has previously be outspoken in condemning high-profile men for their alleged sexist behaviour.
Writing in a November 2017 newspaper column, she discussed the case of Sir Michael Fallon after he was accused of touching a female journalist’s knee.
‘What Michael Fallon, Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey are accused of,’ the Baroness wrote, ‘is abusing their power in an organisation to get someone to do something they don’t want to do, or tolerate something they don’t like.’
Baroness Brady (seen on GMB on January 9) has previously be outspoken in condemning high-profile men for their alleged sexist behaviour
She also once recounted an incident when she sacked a footballer accused of assaulting a woman despite his value to the club.
‘What mattered was that his behaviour was unacceptable and would not be tolerated,’ she told The Telegraph.
Her stance on Sir Philip was condemned by Labour MP Jess Phillips, who said: ‘I get that it’s hard to talk and walk a hard line on sexual harassment but you cannot dine out on women’s rights on one hand and then quit when it gets hard. Nothing will change if we vilify others and protect our mates.’
Baroness Brady told MailOnline: ‘I want to be 100% clear – I have always been an outspoken defender of women’s right in the work place and always will be.
‘As Chairman of Taveta I am extremely proud of our people, our customers and our brands. My primary concern are the 20,000 people who work there of which over 85% are women.
‘My role as Chairman is to ensure that the company continues to remain robust and delivers the standards expected of it. I take this responsibility extremely seriously and will continue to do my duty as long as I am able.’
It comes amid claims report into Sir Philip’s alleged harassment of female staff left out crucial evidence.
The retail tycoon was accused of slapping a woman’s bottom but evidence from two male executives who had seen the alleged incident was apparently not included in Arcadia’s findings.
Sir Philip, 66, was also accused of making ‘offensive remarks’ about the woman but these too did not appear in the report, in what has been described as a ‘cover-up’, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
Detailed claims against the Topshop mogul – who denies any wrongdoing – have emerged this week after his legal action against the Telegraph was ended at the High Court.
Former Las Vegas Topshop manager Auna Irvine (pictured) has previously claimed that when Sir Philip Green was her boss he slapped her bottom and called her fat
Among the allegations are that he groped a female executive, paying her more than £1million to stay quiet.
It is also alleged that he drew attention to the dreadlocks of a senior male executive in front of other staff, and referred to him ‘throwing spears in the jungle’.
Former Las Vegas Topshop manager Auna Irvine has previously claimed that when Sir Philip Green was her boss he slapped her bottom and called her fat.
She said last year she had counselling to help her recover from alleged intimidation and bullying.
In the latest claims reported by The Sun on Sunday, it is also alleged that the businessman called an employee of Indian origin ‘Bhaji’ and ‘Curry’.
Today’s report claims he could face more groping allegations from women who are not covered by non-disclosure agreements.
Sir Philip has categorically denied the allegations and on Friday he accused the paper of ‘pursuing a vendetta’ against him and his staff.
His lawyers told the Telegraph: ‘It is further denied that any of Sir Philip’s conduct towards employees amounted to any type of crime, or anything that would amount to gross misconduct, or a serious risk to health and safety.’
Former employees whose allegations were investigated by the newspaper were under ‘ongoing obligations’ to honour non-disclosure agreements, he said.
MailOnline has contacted Arcadia for a response to the latest claims.
Sir Philip Green with his wife Tina (left) and daughter Chloe (right) in Cannes in 2017. He has denied wrongdoing and said the non-disclosure agreements remain in place