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Ex-BHS owner Dominic Chappell facing prosecution by regulator

The Pensions Regulator has said it will prosecute former BHS owner Dominic Chappell for failing to provide information and documents during its investigation into the collapse of the retailer.

Mr Chappell was director and majority shareholder of Retail Acquisitions, the company that bought BHS for £1 from Sir Philip Green in 2015. It collapsed a year later with the loss of 11,000 jobs.

The collapse also left 19,000 staff and former staff facing uncertainty over their retirement income, until Sir Philip later agreed to pay £363m to help fill a shortfall in the retailer's pension schemes.

The Pensions Regulator, which carried out an investigation into the episode, said Mr Chappell had failed to comply with three notices requiring information, issued in April and May last year and in February this year.

It said Mr Chappell had been summonsed to appear at Brighton Magistrates' Court on 20 September to face three charges of neglecting or refusing to provide information and documents.

Sky News has contacted Mr Chappell for a statement.

The collapse of BHS after 88 years on the high street prompted public anger and led MPs to call for Sir Philip to be stripped of his knighthood.

The billionaire tycoon, whose Arcadia retail empire includes Top Shop and Dorothy Perkins, has apologised to BHS pensioners over the uncertainty they faced following the retailer's collapse.