// Boohoo has come under fresh attack by a Leicester MP
// Liz Kendall has called for CEO John Lyttle and executive chair Mahmud Kamani to resign
// The attack follows the modern slavery scandal earlier this year
Leicester MP Liz Kendall has launched a fresh attack on Boohoo, renewing calls for chief executive John Lyttle and executive chair Mahmud Kamani to exit the company following a modern slavery scandal.
The MP for Leicester West said the working conditions revealed within Boohoo’s Leicester supply chain earlier this year as “one of the worst environmental, social and corporate governance scandals in modern UK history”.
The fast fashion retailer saw its share price drop during the summer following revelations that workers at some of the Leicester warehouses were being paid as little as £3.50 per hour.
READ MORE: Boohoo’s sold-out investor to overhaul company practice after factory scandal
Boohoo has pledged to shore up its supply chain following an independent review of its operations by Alison Levitt QC.
Levitt’s investigation found “many failings” in its work with garment manufacturers in Leicester and recommended a series of improvements to Boohoo’s corporate governance, compliance and monitoring processes.
Boohoo has launched its “agenda for change” in response and has drafted in a number of new hires.
Meanwhile, Kendall has said that Boohoo’s leaders, including co-founder Kamani, “had turned a blind eye to these problems over many years” and were not “the right people to take the company forward”.
She added that the reaction from investors such as Jupiter Fund Management, Fidelity Investments, Invesco and Blackrock, “has so far been extremely disappointing”.
However, she supported Standard Life Aberdeen, which offloaded the majority of its shares in Boohoo after the revelations emerged back in July.
“This matters, because these are the companies that manage the retirement savings of millions of ordinary Britons,” Kendall said.
“Standard Life Aberdeen is to be applauded for its decisions, because fund managers need to champion responsible investing – not as the latest marketing gimmick, but because they intend to drive real change.
“Otherwise it is all just warm words and not worth the paper, or website, it is written on.”
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