Philip Green seeks damages and sources from Telegraph

The Arcadia owner’s lawyers were granted an injunction preventing the paper from publishing Green’s identity but his name was revealed just days later by Labour peer Lord Hain in the House of Lords, who used parliamentary privilege to break the injunction.

Green is seeking damages from The Daily Telegraph and is demanding that the paper reveals its sources, including two which had agreed non-disclosure agreements with Arcadia previously. A judgment handed down yesterday reveals that Green and his lawyers filed the application on December 20. The court date is scheduled for February 4.

His lawyers have accused the newspaper of colluding with Hain due to the peer being an adviser to the law firm which represented The Daily Telegraph on the issue, Gordon Dadds. Both parties deny this.

Hain told City A.M. “This is a malevolent lie to divert attention from the allegations of sexual harassment and bullying at issue.” However Hain is reportedly being investigated by the House of Lords standards commissioner for an “alleged breach of the code in relation to declaration of interests”.

Green denied the allegations against him when they broke in October, saying in a statement: “To the extent that it is suggested that I have been guilty of unlawful sexual or racist behaviour, I categorically and wholly deny these allegations.”