Sir Philip Green 'beat BHS black and blue' say MPs as they vote on stripping him of his knighthood

Some 115 MPs will back a move to strip Sir Philip Green of his knighthood

The Prime Minister has hit out at company bosses who ‘game the system’ amid outcry at the behaviour of Sir Philip Green over the collapse of BHS (Rex)

Business Committee chairman Iain Wright has given a blistering speech attacking former BHS owner Sir Philip Green of enriching himself at the expense of his company

His comments came as MPs were debating whether to strip Sir Philip of his knighthood following the collapse of BHS.

Sir Philip sold BHS for £1 in 2015 to a group of investors led by Chappell, a former racing driver who had previously been declared bankrupt three times. BHS went into administration in April, with a pension deficit of £571 million and the loss of 11,000 jobs.

Wright accused the billionaire of enriching himself, his family and friends at the expense of long-term and sustainable growth of the company.

He said: “He took the rings from BHS’s fingers. He beat it black and blue. He starved it of food and water and put it on life support.

Wright claimed that BHS paid £423 million dividends in the year 2003 to 2004 and £199 million the next year - despite making less in profits.

He described the episode as a case of how a “domineering, overbearing and actually bullying individual was able to get away with things with little challenge”.

“So much for the king of retail”, he added, noting that turnover did not increase under Sir Philip’s watch.

Frank Field, chairman of the work and pensions committee, during the same debate, said there was no evidence that Sir Philip was "King of the High Street" but that "he was and is a successful asset stripper".

Any outcome of Thursday’s debate would be merely symbolic but is likely to significantly increase pressure on the Honours Forfeiture Committee to take action.

Some 115 MPs have now backed a Commons motion to strip Sir Philip Green of his knighthood, following the collapse of BHS.

Sir Philip, who was awarded his title in 2006 for services to retail, made a last attempt to save his knighthood this week suggesting that he was close to agreeing a rescue deal for the BHS pension fund and saying he was “very, very, very sorry” for the retailer’s collapse.

A report by the BBC suggested Sir Philip will meet the Pensions Regulator this week to try to secure a deal over the collapse of the BHS's pension fund