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| Sir Philip Green 'grabbed women's breasts' Lords told | Sir Philip Green 'grabbed women's breasts' Lords told |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| Sir Philip Green grabbed women's breasts and slapped their bottoms, a peer has claimed. | Sir Philip Green grabbed women's breasts and slapped their bottoms, a peer has claimed. |
| Lord Hain told the House of Lords that staff had made hundreds of complaints about the retail tycoon. | Lord Hain told the House of Lords that staff had made hundreds of complaints about the retail tycoon. |
| Last year Lord Hain named the Topshop boss as the person behind a legal injunction stopping a newspaper publishing allegations of sexual harassment and racial abuse. | Last year Lord Hain named the Topshop boss as the person behind a legal injunction stopping a newspaper publishing allegations of sexual harassment and racial abuse. |
| Sir Philip previously "categorically and wholly" denied the claims. | Sir Philip previously "categorically and wholly" denied the claims. |
| Responding to Lord Hain's latest claims, he said: "How sad somebody who already has proven they're prepared to abuse the system wants to continue to behave in this manner." | Responding to Lord Hain's latest claims, he said: "How sad somebody who already has proven they're prepared to abuse the system wants to continue to behave in this manner." |
| Lord Hain defended his use of parliamentary privilege. | |
| He said he had originally named Sir Philip "for moral reasons and was not second-guessing or criticising the judiciary". | |
| "To explain why, I am revealing for the first time in public exactly what one of Sir Philip Green's victims told me. | |
| 'It was horrible' | |
| Lord Hain then quoted what the staff member had told him. "'He was touching and repeatedly slapping women staff's bottoms, grabbing thighs and touching legs. | |
| "'Hundreds of grievance cases were raised with HR. The company lawyer who interviewed me then lied. Sir Philip screamed and shouted at staff 'to go to psychologists'. | |
| Mr Hain said the staff member told him that victims had gone to an employment tribunal, but were told "it would not get anywhere" so settled with a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). | |
| "'Some were worn down with spiralling legal costs costing them a fortune. He broke some in the end. It was horrible... He is still doing exactly the same thing. It is rife, it happened all the time. I saw him grab the breasts of others. This has gone on for long time'," Mr Hain quoted the staff member as saying. | |
| He added that after he named Sir Philip, "numerous former employees and executives of his made similar allegations in various newspapers". | |
| "My motive was to stand up for ordinary employees against a very powerful and wealthy boss, who as described to me seemed to think he was above the rules of decent, respectful behaviour." |