Sir Philip Green blasts 'outrageous' Lord Hain for naming him in harassment case
2 min read
Retail tycoon Sir Philip Green has torn into Labour peer Lord Hain for using Parliamentary privilege to reveal claims of sexual and racial harassment against him.
The Arcadia chairman said it was "outrageous" for Lord Hain to have used the long-standing convention to reveal his identity as the businessman at the centre of an investigation by the Telegraph newspaper.
He told the BBC that he would be lodging a formal complaint with House of Lords authorities, highlighting that Lord Hain had not disclosed that he was an adviser to lawyers working on behalf of the paper.
He told the broadcaster: "As many people have said, Lord Hain's blatant disregard of a judgement made by three senior judges is outrageous."
But the former Neath MP hit back, saying he stood "fully by what I've said in the House of Lords".
He added: "I will not be silenced or intimidated into retracting or apologising for what I said."
Lord Hain accused Sir Philip of "attempting, maliciously, to shift the story from what has really gone on here".
The ex-minister has already come in for criticism over his decision to name the retail mogul, who has been the subject of an eight-month probe by the Daily Telegraph.
The paper said five members of staff had been paid "substantial sums" to prevent them from discussing their claims against Sir Philip.
An injunction granted by the Court of Appeal had prevented the paper from naming the businessman, who has "categorically and wholly" denied allegations of "unlawful sexual or racist behaviour".
Former attorney general Dominic Grieve on Friday branded Lord Hain's decision to name the Topshop boss "arrogant".
"Parliamentary privilege is very important, but like any power which is extremely important it is open to abuse," the Conservative MP said.
"I can't see, looking at this particular matter, that Peter Hain can argue that he hasn't abused it."
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