Former BHS owner Chappell 'victim' of political pressure, court hears

Chappell is appealing against a conviction and fine imposed by TPR in January for failing to comply with a section 72 request for vital information as part of its investigation into the 2016 collapse of the retailer.

The three-time bankrupt was fined £50,000 with a further £37,000 in costs. He bought BHS from tycoon Philip Green for £1 in March 2015 despite having no previous retail experience.

The company collapsed with the loss of 11,000 jobs in April 2016 with a pension deficit of about £571m, sparking a row between Green, Chappell and parliament over who should help bridge the shortfall.

After much public pressure and a parliamentary inquiry Green eventually paid £363m. Chappell faces a separate demand from the TPR for £9.5m which he is also contesting.

At a preliminary hearing at Hove crown court on Friday, Chappell's solicitor Michael Levy said the regulator’s requests for “thousands and thousands” of documents were disproportionate and unreasonable.

Levy said TPR had been under political pressure to take action against his client.

“Some issues are political. We say it has a relevance. The Pensions Regulator was under pressure to do something and be seen to be responding politically at the time.”

“When the TPR makes a request the question is: does it have to be reasonable and proportionate? And our position is that it does. Some regard has to be had with regard to the size of the task involved."

“In this case there is thousands and thousands of documents. There were 17 lever-arch files of documents and thousands and thousands and thousands of pages are attached to the notice.”

The week-long appeal hearing will begin on September 17.