BHS chief executive Darren Topp tells MPs that a £1.5m transfer out of BHS shortly before it went administration was "disgusting".

"It was just the worst possible thing to do in my view," Mr Topp says. This was salaries for people not on hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, but on £7 an hour working in shops, he adds.

Dominic Chappell later ensured the money was returned after a board meeting, minus £50,000 in administrative expenses, Mr Topp says. That £50,000 was later recovered by the administrators appointed to sell BHS, he adds.

Michael Hitchcock, who was effectively BHS' chief financial officer last year, talks about the BHS pension scheme.

"The pension fund did not have to go into the PPF [Pension Protection Fund], absolutely did not have to go into the PPF. There was a solution to keep it out of the PPF on the table more than once," he tells MPs.

He says the PPF life raft is "not fit for the current commercial world", adding: "It is cumbersome, it is not commercial and I do not think it is acting in the best interests of the pensioners."

Dominic Chappell, who led the company that took over BHS last year, has been described as a "premier league liar".

Michael Hitchcock, a consultant who was worked on the finances of BHS made the comment during a hearing by MPs into the collapse of the retailer.

MPs have been hearing a bit more about Dominic Chappell as owner of BHS. Former BHS consultant Michael Hitchock explains Mr Chappell tried to carve off the company's international and online operations - which were profitable - in a scheme called "Project Herald". 

MPs suggested that proposal - which was rejected by BHS management last year - made sense if viewed as a way of helping Mr Chappell's own businesses. 

"Dare I suggest it might have been a financial lifeboat," Mr Hitchcock says. "In the event that BHS fails, the stores fail, he has this other little bit that creates value for him."

Darren Topp mentioned during his questioning by Frank Field MP that he wasn't over worried about (former owner) Dominic Chappell's past because he had been upfront about it: "To be fair he was very clear about the fact he had been a bankrupt - he said he was a byproduct of the financial crisis." That was reassuring: "We'd all Googled him so we had a sense of the colourful past, but what it did do was it suggested to me he wasn't hiding anything."

Michael Hitchcock, a consultant who was brought in last year to work on BHS' finances, tells MPs on the select committee hearing that Dominic Chappell duped him and others about the company.

"The technical term is a mythomaniac, the layperson's term is that he was a Premier League liar and a Sunday pub league retailer," he says.

Mr Hitchcock, who left the business earlier this year, goes on to say that with cash behind BHS, there's no reason why the retailer couldn't have been turned around.

Image source, Parliament Live

BHS began in 1928 as a rival to Woolworths but distinguished itself at that time by being more expensive. At the time of its collapse it had 163 stores and 11,000 employees. 

BHS chief executive Darren Topp is explaining why the retailer collapsed. The chain was fine when it was competing with other department stores C&A, Littlewoods and Alders - all of which have now gone from the High Street, he says. The marketplace now, however, is "significantly more competitive", he tells MPs. 

Image source, Parliament Live

First up in the select committee hearing it's the BHS management team. From left to right, it's former BHS chief executive Richard Price, current boss Darren Topp and consultant Michael Hitchcock who was brought in by Mr Topp last year to cover as chief financial officer.

Image source, Parliament Live

The MPs' questioning of those involved with BHS has begun on time (unlike yesterday's Sports Direct one). We'll bring you all the news as it happens. 

Profits at bookmaker Coral jumped 10% in the first half of the year ahead of its proposed merger with Ladbrokes. Coral's gross profit was £413.1m, with revenue up 13% to £604.9m on the back of strong growth in online gambling.   

Coral boss Carl Leaver said a good Grand National for the bookmaker helped to offset terrible results at Cheltenham racing festival, which he called "the worst for the industry since 2003".

Ladbrokes and Coral are working towards a merger in the second half of the year, after getting encouragement from the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last month. "We will continue to work with the CMA in order to agree the remedies, but the CMA has indicated that the sale of 350-400 shops would enable a final determination in favour of the proposed merger," Mr Leaver said.

Image source, Coral

The owner of McVitie's biscuits and Jacob's crackers has plans to float the business on the London stock market by 2020. It plans to create a business worth $5.2bn (£3.6bn).

Owners Yildiz Holding is going to call the company pladis (with a lower case "p"). Under that will come the brands of United Biscuits, Godiva Chocolatier, Ulker and DeMet's Candy Company.

Cem Karakas, pladis chief executive, said the firm would now embark on a "bold" growth strategy - including expanding McVitie's products into new global markets and entering the UK's premium chocolate industry - as it targets the FTSE 100 listing.

Image source, McVitie's

London shares have opened down 5 points at 6,279. 

We promised to bring opening moves for Sainsbury and Sports Direct. Sainsbury shares are up 2.5% after that trading update beat investor expectations. While Sports Direct shares are flat after Tuesday's 5% gain at 383p. AO shares are flat despite the bullish results, no change at 167p.

Right, here's the running order for the parliamentary committee hearing on BHS, which will take evidence from the bosses and takeover teams of the collapsed chain - including Dominic Chappell who bought the company from Sir Philip Green. 

At 09:00 the MPs will hear from Darren Topp, chief executive of BHS, and Richard Price, former chief executive of the chain. Mark Tasker, Eddie Paladorio and Stephen Bourne, all from Mr Chappell's Retail Acquisitions consortium, are at 10:15. Dominic Chappell then appears at 11:00.