Lord Stuart Rose says Sir Philip Green should not be stripped of knighthood
Lord Stuart Rose, former boss of Marks & Spencer, has defended his frenemy Sir Philip Green, saying the ex-BHS boss should not be stripped of his knighthood.
Rose and Green famously shouted at each other on the street in 2004 when Green's attempt to snap-up Marks & Spencer failed. But, at a retail conference today, Rose defended Green against calls for his knighthood to be removed.
Speaking at Retail Week Live, Rose said: "He created a lot of wealth – not only for himself – but on the high street, and did some good things.
Read more: Sir Philip Green contributes £363m to BHS pension scheme
"He had an unfortunate experience but that does not mean we should stand there and strip him of his epaulettes like Dreyfus and disgrace him."
Green recently contributed £363m to the BHS pension scheme deficit following a parliamentary investigation of his sale of the business that branded him "the unacceptable face of capitalism".
"It has taken some time to pay the appropriate amount of money in the pension," Rose said. "He has done that, it is a substantial sum of money, and I think we should just leave him alone…I don't believe in this public humiliation."