John Baron MP: BHS pensioners must be fairly treated

MP says any wrongdoers must be brought to book

Today in the House of Commons, the Minister of State at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, Rt Hon Anna Soubry MP, gave a statement following the announcement that BHS was going into administration. In particular, the company has a £571 million pension deficit, down from a £5 million surplus in 2001. It has 11,000 workers and 20,000 pensioners nationwide, including a large branch in Basildon.

In the House of Commons, John asked,

“Tens of thousands of BHS pensioners are set to suffer from this news. Will the Government do what it can to ensure we have answers to how a £5 million pension surplus in 2001 turned into a £571 million deficit, whether there has been any wrongdoing and, if so, that those responsible are brought to book?’

The Minister replied that the Pensions Regulator is investigating BHS.

John said afterwards,

“Loyal workers face losing large chunks of their pensions, and this will cause hardship and disruption. The Government must do more than just simply watch from the sidelines. Management must pay the price if there has been wrongdoing, and the pensioners must be fairly treated.”