The use of parliamentary privilege to break
non-disclosure agreements raises questions about their
usage
This month has had an unfortunate amount of light shone onto the
role of non-disclosure agreements and their legaility and morality,
or lack thereof. The main focus of this press attention has come
from the naming in parliament of controversial businessman and
chairman of Arcadia Group, Sir Philip Green, as the UK businessman
who had been alleged to have used non-disclosure agreements and
substantial payments to conceal the truth about serious and
repeated sexual harassment, racist abuse and bullying.
This case is of course extremely troubling in many ways and much
has and will be written on the subject. In terms of governance, we
must look to the responsibilities of the board and auditors and
also to the government and legal system.
