Burnley MP Antony Higginbotham to meet with Boohoo and hold open surgery with workers over Times allegations

Following a report in The Times newspaper of unacceptable working practices in the Burnley warehouse, Mr Higginbotham has been in touch with the CEO of the company and arranged a visit.

Asked why he’s holding a surgery for employees, he said: “Given the seriousness of The Times report I’m not content to just meet with the CEO, which is why I’ve requested an open surgery for all employees. This is about giving those who work in the warehouse the opportunity to speak up about their experiences without the presence of management, because they need to be heard.”

An undercover report claimed that staff at the online fashion giant's warehouse in Widow Hill Road were made to work in temperatures of up to 32C over 12-hour shifts and were expected to collect 130 items an hour.

Antony will be at Boohoo for just over three and half hours on Friday.

Commenting on his upcoming visit he said: “The allegations levied at Boohoo by The Times newspaper last month were just appalling. And if true should not be taking place anywhere, let alone in Burnley and Padiham.

“I want good quality jobs in borough and that means employers, especially on the scale of Boohoo, providing a safe working environment and treating their staff with the respect they deserve.

“We need to be moving to a high wage, high skill economy. Given the size of Boohoo’s presence in Burnley I’ll be making the point that they have to play their part in that.”