Baroness Karren Brady has resigned from Sir Philip Green’s retail empire just weeks after insisting she would stay in the post despite a harassment scandal.

The Apprentice star has stepped down from her position as chairwoman of Taveta Investments, the holding company which owns Arcadia group.

Non-executive director Sharon Brown, a former interim chairwoman of McColl’s, has also left the company.

Lady Brady was accused of hypocrisy after she refused to step down earlier this month, despite the emergence of harassment claims against Sir Philip.

The businesswoman, who is also vice-chairwoman of West Ham, has previously been an outspoken critic of abuses of power in the workplace and was among those to condemn film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Fellow TV business personality Duncan Bannatyne, known for his Dragons’ Den appearances, condemned her continued employment at Taveta as “disgusting”.

Lady Brady defended her position, saying she had a “sense of duty” to employees at retail chains such as Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Burton.

But her sudden departure presents another headache for retail tycoon Sir Philip, who is under investigation by US police over a groping allegation and facing renewed calls for his knighthood to be taken away.

In a statement, Taveta said it was “in active discussions” with potential replacements for the two outgoing board members.

She joined the board of Taveta in 2010 and took over as chairwoman in 2017 following the resignation of former chairman Anthony Grabiner over the BHS scandal.

Alys Key is Press Association City Reporter.