Sir Philip Green was last night facing damaging new claims he racially abused Filipino crew on his superyacht by calling them ‘f****** lazy Flippers’.
According to a source close to the tycoon’s staff in the tax haven of Monaco, when some of the employees complained that the term was racist, they were sacked and replaced.
Last night Sir Philip denied being racist and said he still employed Filipino staff.
The development comes after he was identified last week as the man behind an injunction preventing publication in the Telegraph of allegations about the sexual harassment of staff.
The storm engulfing the billionaire last night showed no sign of abating as he clashed with media who tracked him down to a spa resort in Arizona.
Sir Philip Green (above, in Tucson, Arizona this week) was last night facing damaging new claims he racially abused Filipino crew on his superyacht by calling them ‘f****** lazy Flippers’. According to a source close to the tycoon’s staff in the tax haven of Monaco, when some of the employees complained that the term was racist, they were sacked and replaced
Yesterday on the Cote d’Azur, a source close to the crew of Sir Philip’s £115 million Lionheart superyacht (file image) provided the MoS with a revealing insight into the ‘brutal’ working life for those aboard the 295ft boat or at his various properties in the area
Hours earlier, he had faced claims of sexual harassment and sleazy behaviour from a string of former employees. The Guardian reported allegations he had asked women in meetings if they ‘needed their bottoms slapped’ because they were ‘naughty girls’.
Sir Philip also hit out at Lord Hain – who named him in the House of Lords last week – saying he would report him to the authorities over a suggested conflict of interest because of his links to a firm of lawyers representing the Telegraph.
Yesterday on the Cote d’Azur, a source close to the crew of Sir Philip’s £115 million Lionheart superyacht provided the MoS with a revealing insight into the ‘brutal’ working life for those aboard the 295ft boat or at his various properties in the area.
According to the insider, Sir Philip allegedly lines up staff on the boat and shouts at them if anything isn’t the way he expects it.
The 30-strong crew, who wear cream uniforms, look after up to 12 guests in six ‘staterooms’ on the yacht, which is fitted in Italian marble and is four storeys high with its own helipad.
The source claimed that until about five years ago, the Filipino members of the crew were regularly addressed by Sir Philip as ‘You f****** lazy Flippers’ – a term which some objected to as a racial slur.
According to online Urban Dictionary, the term was used as an insult by World War Two US servicemen and Flip stands for ‘F****** Little Island People’. Sir Philip’s response at the claim of racism was – it is alleged – to have them replaced.
According to the insider, Sir Philip allegedly lines up staff on the boat and shouts at them if anything isn’t the way he expects it. The 30-strong crew, who wear cream uniforms, look after up to 12 guests in six ‘staterooms’ on the yacht, which is fitted in Italian marble and is four storeys high with its own helipad
For those remaining on board, especially the squad of mostly British glamorous young women who work as hostesses and personal assistants, the gruelling work regime has its rewards with tax-free salary packages of up to £250,000 a year. Many were recruited by Lady Green, rather than the tycoon himself, said the source.
‘It’s a great salary, and most of them have their own nannies and have properties in the hills above Monte Carlo,’ said the source. ‘But they have to put up with a lot for it. He treats women like pretty ornaments.
‘A couple of stewardesses came off the yacht when it came back after several months away on charter and they were clutching envelopes full of cash. It was several thousand pounds each, which was an end-of- season tip and they were holding on to each other and crying with exhaustion.’
Another source recalled how when a TV news crew tracked his yacht down and fired questions at him last summer during the scandal surrounding the collapse of BHS, he allegedly went through staff members’ phones on board checking messages and then turned his sights on people who work for him in London saying they must have tipped off the media.
As Sir Philip tried to avoid the media at his £2.3 million home in the grounds of the Canyon Ranch luxury spa in Tucson, Arizona, yesterday, his wife Tina and daughter Chloe (also pictured) were under siege at their penthouse flat in Monaco, apparently watching box sets on Netflix
‘He exploded and yelled every swear word under the sun,’ says a barman in Monaco’s port where his yacht is often moored. ‘A couple of the stewardesses were blinking back tears when they came for drinks after work.
‘But yachting can be like that, you are expected to tolerate all kinds of outrageous behaviour and you pick up a hefty tax-free sum at the end of the season.’ The source said Sir Philip’s inappropriate remarks would often leave those around him asking, ‘Can you believe he said that?’
‘His attitude is that everyone is either out to get him because they envy him or because they want some of his cash,’ the source added. ‘I’ve heard him saying that he hates most British people these days and that they’re all determined to send him to an early grave.
‘He seems quite hurt nobody really likes him in the UK and says everyone has forgotten the good he has done for the country purely because he is rich.’
As Sir Philip tried to avoid the media at his £2.3 million home in the grounds of the Canyon Ranch luxury spa in Tucson, Arizona, yesterday, his wife Tina and daughter Chloe were also under siege at their penthouse flat in Monaco, apparently watching box sets on Netflix.
‘They wanted to go shopping in Cannes this weekend but they can’t face going out,’ said a source. ‘Nobody in Monaco cares and shrugs it off when Philip is in the papers, but they don’t want to be dragged into all of this.’