Sports Direct's Ashley summoned to appear before MPs

MPs have formally summoned Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley to answer questions in parliament about the treatment of workers at his company, Britain's biggest sportswear retailer.

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee said it could take action against Ashley if he refused to appear before the committee in the lower house of parliament in June.

"Should Mr Ashley not agree to appear on June 7, the Committee reserves the right to take the matter further, including seeking the support of the House of Commons in respect of any complaint of contempt," it said.

A spokesman for Sports Direct said the firm was disappointed the Committee had turned down Ashley's invitation to visit its main warehouse in Shirebrook, central England, to view its working practices.

"We will be responding to the Committee in due course," he added.

Ashley is deputy chairman of Sports Direct and holds 55 percent of its equity. He also owns English premier league football club Newcastle United.

Sports Direct has rejected criticism that it effectively pays some staff at Shirebrook below the legal minimum wage, and has ordered a review of working conditions there.

On Friday, Ashley wrote to the committee's chairman, Ian Wright, saying the lawmaker from the opposition Labour Party was being deliberately antagonistic and abusing parliamentary procedure in an attempt to create a media circus.

Parliament can in theory order a person's imprisonment for contempt, although its powers on such actions are untested in recent times, according to a government paper published in 2012.

Shares in Sports Direct, which issued a profit warning in January, have slumped 39 percent over the last year and earlier this month the firm lost its place in Britain's FTSE 100 index of blue chip companies.