As Sir Philip Green’s parliamentary inquiry looms, what questions will he have to answer about his involvement in BHS and its collapse?

Why did you sell BHS to Retail Acquisitions?

It’s a question that has been asked time and again since Sir Philip Green sold the 88-year old department store group to the previously unheard of retail consortium last March for a nominal sum of £1.

The company, which was founded just five months before it acquired BHS, originally comprised a six-strong executive team, none of whom had any prior experience in retail.

When looking for a candidate to save a business with eight consecutive years of losses, 164 stores and 11,000 staff, did Green honestly believe that Retail Acquisitions were the men for the job?

What did you know about Dominic Chappell prior to selling BHS to him?

The man at the helm of Retail Acquisitions was Dominic Chappell, a former racing car driver with multiple bankruptcies under his belt. During his 13-month tenure as an owner of BHS, Chappell allegedly syphoned £1.5m out of the business to an account unconnected with the retailer.

BHS chief executive Darren Topp was damning of Chappell in his parliamentary hearing last week, alleging that the Retail Acquisitions boss “had his fingers in the till”. Former BHS finance consultant Michael Hitchcock described Chappell as “a premier league liar”.

However, Chappell refuted these claims and attributed BHS’s demise to Green, saying the retail mogul had “used” him and “genuinely thought we would fail.”

The war of words and blame game surrounding BHS’s collapse shows no sign of abating, so whether Green should have trusted Chappell to steer BHS to recovery and what made him the right candidate for the job will be a key question.

Did you veto a Mike Ashley rescue bid for BHS?

Chappell alleged in his parliamentary grilling last week that Green went “insane” and blocked a potential rescue bid for BHS made by Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley prior to the business entering administration. Green will no doubt be asked whether those claims were true and, if so, what motivated him to block a bid from Ashley, who said in his own parliamentary hearing last week that he had “100% wanted to buy BHS”.

What measures were taken to protect the BHS pension scheme?

The lack of security of BHS’ pension fund has been the subject of many column inches over the last two months. Green will be asked what efforts he made to safeguard the scheme and crucially, what he intends to do to address the issue.

How much have you profited from BHS and did you stand to gain from its demise?

Green presided over BHS between 2000 and 2015 but his wife Tina, who lives in tax-haven Monaco, was the ultimate owner of the business. MPs will want to know how much Green has profited from the department store retailer over that time.

Green has previously argued that losses at BHS hurt the retailer’s former parent company Arcadia and that he has written off debt that the retailer owes him. However, Green will likely be grilled on whether he stands to gain financially from the retailer’s demise.

Have you behaved honourably as a knight?

Whatever the legailites may be, Green is also facing the court of public opinion. BHS’s demise and the subsequent fall-out has brought demands that he should lose his knighthood.