Jewish prankster re-names Sir Philip Green’s yacht ‘BHS Destroyer’
Simon Brodkin, whose stage name is Lee Nelson, sailed out to the retail billionaire's super-yacht before hanging up the sign on its side
Retail billionaire Sir Philip Green has had his superyacht renamed “BHS Destroyer” in a prank by comedian Simon Brodkin.
The TV star tweeted pictures of himself under his stage name Lee Nelson sailing up to the luxury vessel, reportedly worth £100 million, and hanging the sign.
He posted: “Good of Sir Philip Green to rename his £100 million yacht to something more appropriate. I was glad to help.”
BHS’s collapse in April has affected 11,000 jobs, 22,000 pensions, sparked a lengthy parliamentary inquiry and left its high-profile former owners potentially facing a criminal investigation.
Sir Philip owned the department store for 15 years before selling it to serial bankrupt Dominic Chappell for £1 in 2015.
He came under fire for taking more than £400 million in dividends from the chain, leaving it with a £571 million pension deficit and for selling it to a man with no retail experience.
The yacht stunt is the latest prank by Brodkin, who showered former Fifa president Sepp Blatter with fake money at a press conference last year.
He also stormed the Glastonbury stage during Kanye West’s set wearing a T-shirt with “Lee-Zus” on it before being removed by security.
The year before he tried to board the England football team’s jet as they set off for the Brazil World Cup.
He was given a conditional caution after he duped security at Manchester City’s game at Everton in March 2013 and limbered up alongside star players.
The qualified doctor, who had his own sketch show on BBC Three, was later charged with going on to the playing area, contrary to the Football Offences Act.
The charge was withdrawn and he was issued with a six-month conditional caution.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.