Sir Philip Green has reportedly offered to volunteer £300 million towards the pensions deficit of BHS, but only if the investigation into the BHS collapse is dropped.

As the last BHS stores closed their doors over the weekend, various public figures have called upon Sir Philip to contribute to the deficit in order to help the 22,000 BHS staff whose pensions will be affected by the collapse.

According to the Daily Mail, Sir Philip has said that it was “unrealistic” to expect that the voluntary contribution would be made unless the anti-avoidance probe was dropped.

John Glen, a Tory member of the Commons work and pensions committee, said: “No regulator should ever be blackmailed or allow a legitimate inquiry to be curtailed on the promise of an unspecified sum.

“The regulator is there to examine where things have gone wrong and ensure they don’t happen again. Philip Green should not be allowed to call the tune in these circumstances.”