He added: “I was told that we were over-quick to pick up the phone for the ambulance service”.
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In a letter dated 2 June, however, Mr Ashley told the committee he was unable to attend because his lawyer Richard Gordon QC is “unavailable” and “cannot change that obligation”.
Newcastle owner Ashley faced Unions saying that a “culture of fear” emanated from the pratices at his warehouse, but there was no fear in how Ashley faced the MPs and answered their questions in such a forthright manner that he was described by a member of the panel as an “authentic witness”.
Mr Ashley admitted “you can not have that number of serious incidents” but defended his company by saying some people were “over-quick” to phone emergency services.
The boss also acknowledged that 20% full time and 80% part-time employees is the wrong balance.
Mr Birkby said his company was now holding regular “HR surgeries” for staff and had recently conducted a satisfaction survey which showed 96 per cent of staff were happy. “That’s repugnant, that’s disgusting”.
During the session, Ashley said that Sports Direct has outgrown his ability to manage it and committed to try to fix the issues mentioned during the evidence session.
“I’m not going to do nothing when I hear stories like this”, he said.
Asked if he is prepared to engage with unions, Mr Ashley said: “I believe Sports Direct can do a better job for the people of Sports Direct than Unite”.
Ms Hardy said problems had been dealt with as they were exposed by the media.
“People are scared because they are working under a system that they know they could lose their employment at any moment”, he said.
He also revealed he wanted to buy BHS prior to its collapse. “It’s a logical fit with Sports Direct because of the extreme value that Sports Direct is known for”.
Satirical comedy show Have I Got News For You posted a predictably witty response…
My betting would have been that if MPs hadn’t refused that offer, he would then have claimed after a visit to his headquarters that there was then no need to go to Parliament because he’d already answered any questions they’d had when seeing him on that private visit. Perhaps it can induce other shareholders to hold the company executive to account and bring the company into the 21century and introduce fair working practices.
The union said it had no confidence in a review into working practices announced a year ago by owner Mike Ashley, claiming that little was happening behind the “gloss of PR stunts”.
The union warned of a “race to the bottom” in working practices, adding abuses were a real “danger to the economy”.
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Ahead of the hearing, Ashley admitted for the first time that there are issues with Sports Direct’s search policies and working conditions in a letter sent to Sports Direct’s 27,000 staff and reported by the Daily Telegraph on Monday night.
