Former BHS pensions chair Margaret Downes could not persuade Sir Philip Green to put more than £10m a year into the BHS pension scheme, she revealed today.

Speaking at the Business, Innovation and Skills Committee and Work and Pensions Committee meeting this morning, Downes described Green as being “different to most” and was unwilling to pay anymore to combat the deficits within the scheme.

Despite this, Downes said Green had a “caring approach” to the 22,000 members of the BHS pension scheme.

Early questioning focused on the current chair of trustees of the BHS pension scheme and Independent Trustees Limited managing director Chris Martin who revealed that his company had been paid around £250,000 for his work and that he was appointed as chair after just 15 minutes of meeting with Green.

Conservative Jeremy Quin asked if there was anything the regulator and the trustees could have done to have kept the original rescue plan on the table to which Martin replied “nothing”.

Martin said when he met with Retail Acquisitions directors prior to acquisition they had “not done due diligence” on the BHS pension troubles.

He stated that Retail Acquisitions were uncertain over the BHS pension issues and knew Arcadia’s cash was needed to support the pension scheme.

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