Sir Philip Green is a ‘dinosaur’ who should be stripped of his knighthood, says retail guru Mary Portas
- Former Topshop employee Portas condemned tycoon Friday at event in London
- Comments come months after Portas, 58, said he was bully stuck in the eighties
- In March, body that removes honours said it was ‘looking into’ stripping Green
Sir Philip Green should be stripped of his knighthood because he’s a ‘dinosaur’, according to retail guru Mary Portas.
The former Topshop display manager, 58, was speaking at a magazine event on Friday when she blasted the tycoon for a string of sexual harassment and racist scandals.
When asked whether the 66-year-old should be stripped of his honorary title, she replied: ‘Yes’.
Retail guru Mary Portas (pictured) has said Sir Philip Green should be stripped of his knighthood following a spate of sexual harassment and racist allegations
Her condemnation of Green comes months after she described him as a ‘bully stuck in the eighties’.
Speaking in November, she said: ‘[He’s] caught up in an Eighties culture and thinking “What have I done wrong?”‘
‘Nobody’s kept Philip Green in check. There is this hierarchical system of “I own the business, therefore you are not going to write that s***, or take that off my shopfloor, or I can call you sweetheart”.’
Sir Philip Green (with wife Tina and daughter Chloe) is a dinosaur stuck in the eighties, Portas said
Portas worked as Topshop’s display manager during the 1980s, before Sir Philip bought Arcadia in 2002.
During her time at Topshop, she worked with former senior executive Jane Shepherdson, who described Sir Philip as a ‘bully’ after the scandal emerged.
Portas’ comments come after a spate of sexual harassment and racial misconduct allegations against the tycoon were made public.
Green allegedly groped a female executive mocked a male employee’s dreadlocks and dragged woman around in a headlock – and silenced them with settlements and non disclosure agreements.
Details of the allegations against Sir Philip involving five employees were revealed by The Telegraph after his legal action against the paper ended at the High Court.
It was reported that the Arcadia boss paid out millions in settlements with staff members, who include a senior female executive who was allegedly called a ‘naughty girl’ by Sir Philip.
Sir Philip was accused of groping female members of staff and silencing them with Non Disclosure Agreements
He allegedly kissed her face on a number of occasions, slapped her bottom and made comments about her weight.
Sir Philip also allegedly drew attention to the dreadlocks of a senior male executive in front of other staff, and referred to him ‘throwing spears in the jungle’.
And it was reported he was told not to come any closer by a woman whose face he is said to have grabbed, allegedly dragged another senior female staff member around in a headlock and allegedly smashed a male staff member’s mobile phone in an aggressive dressing down.
In March, the body in charge of removing honours has said for the first time that it was examining a request to strip Sir Philip Green of his knighthood
In all five cases, the employees had agreed to keep the details of their complaints confidential under NDAs.
Sir Philip obtained the injunction, but he dropped it because it was ‘pointless’ after he was named in Parliament as the businessman behind an injunction against the newspaper.
In March, the body in charge of removing honours has said for the first time that it was examining a request to strip Sir Philip Green of his knighthood.