Sir Philip Green looks relaxed as he enjoys a sun-soaked outing along the French Riviera

He recently came under fire for continuing to take millions in taxpayer cash to furlough workers. 

And Sir Philip Green was seen enjoying an outing at the seaside village of Beaulieu-sur-Mer on the French Riviera on Friday.

The billionaire, 68, looked relaxed as he sat with his feet up while taking a speed boat out onto the water alongside two companions.

Sir Philip put on a casual display for the outing, as he paired a grey shirt with matching shorts that had a polka-dot print. 

After enjoying his stroll Sir Philip then headed to a speed boat, which had an image of a lion printed on the side, and sped off into the water.

Despite recent controversies surrounding him and his company, the businessman appeared unconcerned as he enjoyed the sun-soaked day.

In June it was revealed the Green’s company Arcadia Group – whose brands include Dorothy Perkins and Miss Selfridge – furloughed 14,500 staff in April under Rishi Sunak’s job retention scheme.

A source close to Arcadia revealed that some staff had gone back to work after the reopening of 631 stores, but that others remained furloughed.  

The source told The Times: ‘Nobody’s going to bring all their staff back, are they?There’s way too many unknowns. We’re living in a world where nobody’s ever been before.’

His decision to keep using the scheme – which pays 80 per cent of wages – is in stark contrast to other retailers who have refunded HM Revenue & Customs after deciding that they no longer need the financial assistance.   

The successful fast-fashion company Boohoo headed by billionaire Mahmud Kamani, 55, is returning furlough money, for example, as he said: ‘You always have to give back, especially when you’re doing OK.’

Critics have questioned how much Green needs to rely on taxpayers’ money to keep his business afloat. He has lived in the tax haven of Monaco since 1998 and has a fortune of £930 million according to The Sunday Times Rich List.  

Sir Philip has faced repeated calls to lose his knighthood over his involvement in a string of controversies.

Last year, a member of the House of Lords claimed the businessman had ‘multiple’ grievance claims against him. Green denied all the claims. 

The allegations were revealed by Lord Hain, who last year used the cloak of parliamentary privilege to identify the Topshop boss as the person behind a legal injunction preventing the Daily Telegraph from publishing allegations of sexual harassment and racial abuse.

The claims, which Sir Philip ‘categorically and wholly denied’, included allegations that the retail tycoon dragged a woman around in a headlock and smashed a male employee’s mobile phone. 

It was also claimed that he mocked a male employee’s dreadlocks and referred to him ‘throwing spears in the jungle’.

Sir Philip also faced allegations that he groped a female executive, paying her more than £1million to stay quiet.

He has not been to Britain since the claims surfaced in October 2018 and has run Arcadia either from his penthouse in Monaco or from Lionheart, his family’s £100m superyacht. 

Green enjoyed almost two decades of ruling the high street after lucrative takeovers of BHS in 2000 and Arcadia in 2002.     

The collapse of BHS – less than a year after he sold it for £1 – plunged Green into even more controversy.   

Arcadia was in trouble even before the current coronavirus crisis. It recorded an operating loss of £138m on turnover of £1.8bn in 2018.

Last year Arcadia carried out an insolvency procedure known as a company voluntary arrangement to cut rents and close some shops. 

Arcadia Group were contacted by MailOnline for comment at the time.