A report from the department of Work and Pensions, and Business, Innovations and Skills Committees blamed a "litany of failures" for the collapse of high street retailer BHS.

In the report, MPs catalogue a litany of failure that culminated in an "at any cost" disposal of the company and pension deficit to a "wholly unsuitable chancer."

The report concludes that Sir Philip Green chose to rush the sale through, losing money and encumbered with a massive pension fund deficit to a buyer who was "manifestly unsuitable".

MPs heard hours of spoken testimonies and saw thousands of pages of written evidence in the inquiry, which began after BHS went into administration just 13 months after the sale of BHS to Dominic Chappell.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association commented on the report.

Director of external affairs at PLSA Graham Vidler, said: "There are more than 6,000 defined benefit schemes in the UK with 11 million members and more than £1 trillion of assets, so it's important to make sure schemes are secure and working hard for both members and the wider economy."

"This report highlights these schemes are operating in a very challenging environment and even the most supportive sponsoring employers find themselves making very difficult choices about how best to balance the interests of their DB scheme and the wider business, which supports the scheme, and its members and many other employees."

Vidler went on to say that the in the case of BHS, the committee reached a clear conclusion that the sponsoring employer was not supportive.

"The report's conclusion, that Sir Philip Green and his directors repeatedly resisted requests from trustees for higher contributions for the scheme, sends a welcome and strong message about employers' duties to the millions of defined benefit pension scheme members in the UK," he said.

First published 28.07.2016

Lindsay.sharman@wilmingtonplc.com