MP will ask Commons questions about BHS

Oldham MP Jim McMahon

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LOCAL MP Jim McMahon vowed to raise questions in Parliament about the BHS high-street brand which has gone into liquidation.

Around 55 members of staff at Oldham's BHS branch are set to lose their job after the development in what is also a blow to Oldham's Spindles shopping centre, where a two-floor BHS branch opened four years ago.

Jim McMahon, MP for Oldham West & Royton, has assured constituents that he will raise in Parliament their concerns about circumstances around the liquidation and who is accountable.

He said: "When BHS opened in 2012 it was welcomed into the community and not just because it was about an investment in the British high street ­- and we know that that has faced very significant challenges ­- but also that it created the jobs for nearly a hundred people.

"Those hundred people today will be looking at a very bleak future as they think about life after BHS.

"Now what they will want to know and what I want to know as the MP representing this area is what are the answers to the questions when it comes to the role of Sir Philip Green, the money that was taken in the dividend payment and the pension-fund situation that blocked that from being sold?

"People will want to know whether people who take the money when times are good but disappear when times are bad, are those people held to account? Those are the questions that I will be asking in Parliament to represent the people of my constituency."

Administrators Duff & Phelps made the announcement that BHS would fall into liquidation, with the loss of up to 11,000 jobs, after efforts to find a buyer failed.

The decision followed a lengthy bidding process aimed at saving BHS which went into administration in April. But none of the offers was judged acceptable by administrators who blamed seismic shifts in the retail sector for the collapse.

Mike Flanagan, Spindles shopping centre manager, said: "Obviously it is sad news generally about a big high-street brand disappearing. My thoughts are with all of the staff at the Oldham store, who have worked extremely hard, and which has been open for four years. Our heart goes out to them.

"It is a loss and everyone is making sure that the void if and when BHS is gone will be filled."

The Oldham store ­- which sells clothing, electrical goods and furniture ­- was opened by Olympian Nicola White in November, 2012, and kick-started an upturn in trade in the town centre. All 163 BHS stores will hold closing sales over the coming weeks.

See Jim McMahon's video response to the BHS news.