Sir Philip Green to rehire 1,000 former BHS employees

Sir Philip Green is understood to be in the process of re-hiring 1,000 former BHS employees, barely a week after the Arcadia Group owner was quizzed by MPs over the collapse of the high street chain.

The jobs are expected to be handed to workers already employed in Arcadia concessions, such as Dorothy Perkins and Wallis, within BHS stores. Green's intervention was welcomed by Dave Gill, national officer at union Usdaw, who, however, insisted more should be done to solve the crisis facing BHS staff.

Appearing before MPs last week, Green apologised for the collapse of the 88-year-old company and pledged to resolve the group's pension crisis.

"There certainly [was] no intent on my part for anything to be like this," he said. "It didn't need to be like this."

On 3 June, the administrators announced they would close all remaining 163 BHS stores across the UK, after a suitable buyer could not be found for the embattled chain. The decision means that 8,000 members of staff are likely to lose their jobs, while an additional 3,000 contractor jobs could also be at risk.