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BILLIONAIRE Boots boss Stefano Pessina was warned yesterday that he has breached public trust in the company by berating Ed Miliband.
John Murphy, a former senior manager at Boots HQ who now leads a union that represents its staff, said that the outburst risked sparking a rift between the company, its customers and staff.
He told the Star: “Boots has always very careful not to take political sides because it didn’t want alienate at least half of its customers and workforce.
“But the comments that (Mr Pessina) made are certainly injudicious.
“Any organisation that misplaces the trust that’s been places in it by its loyal staff and the great British public will feel the impact upon its business.
“So let’s hope Mr Pessina has learned a lesson.”
Mr Murphy spoke out after Monaco-based Mr Pessina claimed last Sunday that it would be a “catastrophe” for Britain if Mr Miliband becomes prime minister.
Hitting back, the Labour leader said people would not take kindly to “being lectured by someone who is avoiding his taxes on how they should be voting.”
Mr Pessina’s decision to move Boots HQ from Britain to Switzerland in order to take advantage of lower tax rates has also been condemned.
Even Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson described it as “disappointing that he doesn’t cough up.”
A joint War on Want and Unite union report in 2013 revealed how Boots had dodged more than £1 billion in tax since 2007 — despite earning huge sums from NHS contacts.
And Mr Murphy, the general secretary of the Pharmacist Defence Association, said Mr Pessina’s comments would spark renewed scrutiny of the company.
He said: “Don’t get me wrong, Boots is lodged firmly in the heart of the British public and many of our members work for them, so we don’t want the organisation to be unsuccessful.
“But his comments have shone the spotlight again on his own personal tax affairs and allegations that Boots have avoided their tax for the past nine years.”
Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt attempted to end the row yesterday by insisting Labour is a “furiously, passionately, aggressively pro-business” party.
