Sports Direct denies spying on MPs

(ShareCast News) - Sports Direct said it did not authorise or have any knowledge of a device that was said to have been used to record the private conversations of MPs from the Business and Skills Committee during an unannounced visit to its Shirebrook warehouse on Monday.The group said it was "delighted" that members of the BIS Committee visited but "disappointed" that they chose to do so when they knew founder Mike Ashley would not be on site.MPs gave Sports Direct a one-hour warning before turning up and MP Anna Turley later said that a recording device had been planted in the room where they had gathered for private discussions.Sports Direct said in its statement on Tuesday that it understood the MPs met many members of staff who expressed positive views of the company, as evidence by comments from Turley, who said: "We had a positive tour around, we got to speak to a lot of the workforce and we got to see a lot of people who were very positive about the brand.""The board understands that at an impromptu open session arranged for the workforce to share their views with the MPs in the afternoon many workers expressed their dissatisfaction with how the company was portrayed by the Committee and the media," Sports Direct said."As such, the board is disappointed that reporting of a possible recording device (the veracity of which has yet to be determined) has overshadowed the truly important issues that this visit should have focused on - the true working conditions and worker satisfaction at Shirebrook.At 0945 GMT, the shares were down 1.8% to 319.10p.