The unacceptable face of capitalism: Philip Green joins an infamous band of businessmen

Billionaire retailer Sir Philip Green has joined an infamous band of businessmen who have been derided as the "unacceptable face of capitalism".

A highly critical MPs' report slapped this label on him in its study into the collapse of BHS, which he sold for £1 to a group with little retail experience, led by a man who had been made bankrupt several times previously.

MPs said the Green family extracted more than £300m ($394m, €359m) from the department chain, and after 15 years left a business that collapsed 13 months after it was sold, putting 11,000 jobs at risk.

BHS was also left with a £571m pensions black hole, affecting up to 20,000 members in the scheme.

The colourful phrase was first used by Conservative prime minister Edward Heath in 1973 about the tycoon RW "Tiny" Rowland about the way he ran his Lonhro conglomerate and over his business dealings in Zimbabwe (then called Rhodesia).

Green is also facing calls for him to be stripped of his knighthood, which he was awarded in 2006 for "services to retail". The Cabinet Office confirmed it is reviewing the award.

The Topshop owner may well face the same treatment as the former head of Royal Bank of Scotland, Fred Goodwin, who saw his gong taken away in 2012, four years after the bank came within hours of going under. It had to be bailed out with £45bn of taxpayers' money.

Jim O'Donnell, managing director of BMW Great Britain, slammed the group of directors who bought Rover for £10 in 2000 from the German firm along with a £550m dowry as the "unacceptable face of capitalism."

The four men – John Towers, Nick Stephenson, Peter Beale and John Edwards – banked more than £42m in pay and pensions in the five years they ran the carmaker before it failed with the loss of 6,300 jobs and debts of around £1.3bn, a government investigation found. The men were dubbed the Phoenix Four, after holding company they formed to run the business, Phoenix Venture Holdings.

The MP behind the report on Green, Labour veteran Frank Field, said the retailer's behaviour was worse than that of Robert Maxwell, the media tycoon and Daily Mirror owner who died in 1991 after falling from his yacht in the Canary Islands.

"He's much worse [than Maxwell]," Field told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "I've always thought Maxwell meant to pay the money back, he was just going all over the place borrowing money to keep his companies going. When the music stopped he had no money.

"Sir Philip Green has a huge amount of money – unlike Robert Maxwell – if he wishes now to make good the pension deficit to those 22,000 pensioners he could do it. He keeps talking about it, but doesn't do it."

Green likes to be seen with famous friends like singer Beyonce or model Kate Moss. But the MPs' use of that loaded phrase has forever linked his name to some of the UK's most scandalous businessmen.