The Scottish Affairs Committee has said that the handling of fashion chain USC’s collapse by Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct “looks well dodgy”.
USC went into administration in January, with 200 employees being given only 15 minutes warning before being made redundant.
The loss of over 80 jobs in a South Ayrshire depot triggered questions from the Scottish Affairs Committee last month.
The main line of questioning focused on the fact that USC was bought back by another part of Mr Ashley’s business empire as part of a pre-pack deal that had it trading again, whilst “shafting” taxpayers who were left to pick up the bill for employees’ redundancy payouts.
Conservative MP Simon Reevell told the Scottish affairs committee: "Sports Direct had a company that was losing money, they now have the same company where the debt liability that had been incurred has gone."
"At one level, to use a technical phrase, this all looks well dodgy," he added.
Keith Hellawell, Sports Direct’s chairman, told the committee that chief executive Dave Forsey had begun "consulting" with administrators Duff and Phelps as early as 14 November but that he and the board hadn't known anything about the collapse of USC until the day before it folded.
