Guest column: Lawrence Jones – Green an embarrassment to British entrepreneurs

Lawrence Jones MBE, chief executive of UKFast, says that MPs are right to scrutinise former BHS owner Sir Philip Green’s suitability for knighthood.

THE financial choices Philip Green has made tarnish his reputation, such as taking out large dividends from a company which then developed a massive pension deficit.

It’s disgraceful that, in the end, those who helped him make his billions are the ones left paying the price.

I question whether the Queen would award his knighthood in this year’s honours list considering that his actions have left huge numbers of people out of pocket.

Any honour is an endorsement of someone’s great behaviour and extraordinary efforts to stand out from the crowd and make a difference to others. I can’t help feeling that he’s a bit of a British embarrassment.

We have to be measured by our choices and, based on his choices, he doesn’t deserve his knighthood.

There is a responsibility attached to this honour and although Green made a big difference to the retail industry in the UK, he should do the right thing and make a large financial contribution to the pension fund.

Stories of greedy businessmen tarnish the reputation of entrepreneurs in general.

It’s a shame that someone who was previously celebrated for his business skills, acting as a mentor to young entrepreneurs, should now end his career this way.

The UK Government’s failure to properly tax global firms on their UK activity leads business owners, like Green, to use complex tax arrangements to reduce tax bills in order to compete.    

There is increasing pressure on British business owners, particularly tech companies who are competing at the top level with giant American firms that are able to get away with paying less than 1% tax.

This is another sign that the government needs to redress the balance of British entrepreneurs having one or both hands tied behind their back.

Until that happens there will be people who try to find ways to level the playing field.