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Former BHS owner branded 'Premier League liar'

Dominic Chappell - who bought BHS for £1 - was branded a "premier league liar" who had his "fingers in the till" during a hearing of the Commons Business and Pensions Committees today.

However, in his evidence, Mr Chappell chose to focus on the role of Sir Philip in the saga, claiming that the Topshop billionaire blocked a rescue attempt from Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley and tipped BHS into administration.

The chain is set to go into liquidation after administrators failed to find a buyer. All 163 stores will close with 11,000 jobs also expected to be lost.

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Green 'attempted to sabotage BHS sale to Sports Direct'

The former owner of BHS has claimed Sir Philip Green attempted to sabotage an attempt to sell the beleaguered retail department store to Sports Direct.

Speaking in front of a committee of MPs, Dominic Chappell said Sir Philip, from whom he bought the company for £1, "went absolutely insane" when he found out about the possible sale to Sports Direct.

Mr Chappell said the sportswear company was a "willing buyer" and its owner Mike Ashley was going to "save the business".

This was an exercise by Philip to tip us over. When we had a very blunt conversation with Philip and he was not going to support us moving forward, I went to approach Mike Ashley at Sports Direct. We worked there for 24 hours straight until Philip Green found out that it was Sports Direct that we were speaking to. There was a willing buyer, and Mike was going to save the business. Philip found out about it and went absolutely insane.

– Dominic Chappell

Mr Chappell also admitted he made a profit out of BHS, but refused to detail how much, saying he will give a "full breakdown" on a spreadsheet "as soon as practically possible".

When questioned whether he felt he'd earned the profit he made out of BHS he said: "Yes I do".

The former BHS owner added that he is "devastated" for the 11,000 people who face losing their jobs.

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Former BHS owner branded 'Premier League liar'

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