Sir Brian Leveson to oversee review of boohoo supply chain practices

Online fashion retailer boohoo has appointed Sir Brian Leveson to oversee its reviews of its supply chain and business practices.

Sir Brian Leveson, known for chairing the inquiry into the practices and ethics of the UK press following the News Of The World phone hacking scandal, will report to the board and publish reviews as part of the company’s ‘Agenda for Change’ programme.

The news follows the revelation in July this year that one of Boohoo’s Leicester-based suppliers were found to be underpaying workers and failing to protect them from the COVID-19 outbreak, bringing the firm’s ethical trading practices under scrutiny.

Mahmud Kamani, group executive chairman at boohoo, commented: “I am encouraged by the progress that has been made to date by our teams since setting out our Agenda for Change programme in September.

“Myself and the board are fully committed to this programme, with the appointments of Sir Brian Leveson and KPMG bringing independent oversight, additional expertise and further transparency to a programme that will help us on our journey to lead the fashion e-commerce market globally in a transparent manner.”

Sir Brian Leveson PC added: “boohoo has recognised that it must institute and embed change so that everyone involved in the Group’s supply chain is treated fully in accordance with the law and the principles of ethical trading.

“I look forward to providing independent oversight of the Agenda for Change programme and to working with the boohoo team, KPMG and the other independent experts to achieve this, while, at the same time, providing publicly available progress reports.”