MPs surprise visit to Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct turns to farce amid … – Telegraph.co.uk

Anna Turley, MP for Redcar, told The Telegraph that a woman entered the MP’s meeting room, ostensibly with the purpose of bringing in a tray of sandwiches, and placed a recording device underneath a chair.

“I couldn’t believe it”, Ms Turley said. “I watched her put the device on the floor and when she left I said ‘bloody hell guys they are trying to record us’. It’s not James Bond, more Austin Powers.”

When MPs confronted Sports Direct’s spokesman, Gary Thompson, and operations boss Karen Byers, after discovering the device they were put on the phone to Mr Ashley who accused them of planting the recorder.

“I was put on the phone to him [Mr Ashley] and he said ‘you must have planted it there’,” Mr Wright said.”Then the PR said that it must have been there before from a previous meeting. But that is all nonsense and I said as much”, the MP added.

Ms Turley added that the recorder that was found on the floor was the same one used during the tour when company representatives filmed the questions being asked by MPs.