JJB
Sir David Jones was executive chairman of JJB Sports from January 2009 for a year (Reuters)

Sir David Jones, the British retail magnate, has been charged by the Serious Fraud Office with forgery and making misleading statements to the stock market during his year as executive chairman at failed sportswear retailer JJB.

His son Mark Jones, who was head of marketing at JJB under his dad's leadership, has also been charged with an offence by the SFO.

Jones senior is charged with two offences of making a misleading statement, contrary to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and one offence of using a false instrument, contrary to the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, said the SFO.

The one-time boss of clothing retailer Next had been JJB's executive chairman from January 2009.

His son Mark is charged with one offence of aiding and abetting his father's use of a false instrument, contrary to s3 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981.

Both men will appear in court on April 19. They have been released on unconditional bail.

The charges are unrelated to previous SFO action against former JJB executive Christopher Ronnie relating to allegations of fraud and money laundering.

JJB has been troubled for a few years and fell into administration in September 2012 after being badly affected by the global economic downturn, as consumers' pockets were picked by rising bills and stagnant wage growth.