'I'll buy back BHS and clear my name,' says Dominic Chappell - the twice bankrupt former racing driver who took clothing giant to the wall

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Dominic Chappell, the twice bankrupt former racing car driver who bought BHS for £1, has fought back against allegations that his firm took £25million from the failed department store chain.

And he now claims he is raising finance from international backers to buy it back.

Speaking to the Mail, Chappell vowed to appear before a committee of MPs to clear his name. He said that rather than taking cash from BHS – which went bust last week – he actually invested £10million in the company. 

Defiant: Dominic Chappell, the twice bankrupt former racing car driver who bought BHS for £1, has fought back allegations that his firm took £25m from the failed firm

Chappell said: ‘The only money I took was to pay for the wages of people like the chief executive.’

The 49-year-old has not been seen since BHS collapsed and was thought to be in Boston in the US.

Now he has revealed that he is in Vancouver, Canada, raising funds from potential investors. He claimed to have been in talks with backers from America, Canada and the UK – but he refused to say who. 

When asked whether he would appear before a committee of MPs who have asked him to explain the scandal, he said: ‘Of course I will.’

Chappell bought BHS from Sir Philip Green with business partners in March last year through a firm called Retail Acquisitions. 

Chappell is facing accusations that millions have been stripped from the 88-year- old chain. It also has a pension blackhole of £571million.

On Tuesday, both the work and pensions and business select committees confirmed that they would hold joint hearings into the debacle.

The select committees confirmed that Green will attend a hearing in June, but his wife Tina, who has received hundreds of million of pounds in dividends from BHS, would not be called.

Business committee chairman Iain Wright said that those attending will be grilled on the ‘enormous sums’ taken out of BHS.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid has also ordered an immediate probe led by the Insolvency Service.