Sir Philip Green drops legal battle against the Telegraph

Topshop owner Sir Philip Green has dropped his legal action against the Telegraph over allegations made against him of sexual harassment and racist behaviour.

In October, the Telegraph revealed allegations of bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment against an unnamed person at Arcadia, following an eight month investigation.

Despite the Court of Appeal issuing an interim injunction preventing the newspaper from naming Sir Philip Green, Lord Peter Hain named him in the House of Lords, saying that it was his “duty” to exercise his parliamentary privilege in naming the retail tycoon. Last week it was revealed that Sir Philip Green would be taking the Telegraph to court over the allegations.

On Monday, a statement released by Arcadia and Sir Philip Green, and seen by the BBC, read: “After careful reflection, Arcadia and Sir Philip have therefore reluctantly concluded that it is pointless to continue with the litigation which has already been undermined by the deliberate and irresponsible actions of Lord Peter Hain, the paid consultant of the Telegraph’s lawyers Gordon Dadds, and risks causing further distress to the Arcadia’s employees."

Sir Philip Green drops 'gagging' legal action against the Telegraph

The statement added: “Consequently, Arcadia and Sir Philip will be seeking the court’s permission to discontinue these proceedings on Monday.”

The statement also accuses the Telegraph of repeatedly contacting and harassing current and former staff of Arcadia through a campaign of doorstepping, often at night, which caused “distress and concern to their families, even as recently as last weekend.”

The legal battle that Sir Philip Green dropped sought to uncover the sources of the Telegraph’s investigation, and also accused the Telegraph of colluding with Hain after it was discovered that he was a paid adviser to the Telegraph’s law firm, Gordon Dadds. Hain denied that the firm was the source of his information.

Speaking with City AM last week, Hain said: “This is a malevolent lie to divert attention from the allegations of sexual harassment and bullying at issue.”

Photo credit: Slaven Vlasic / Getty images North America / AFP