Tycoon pays £1/2m for England shirt

Billionaire retailer Philip Green has paid £500,000 for an England shirt from the Rugby World Cup final.

Even auctioneers at Sotheby's gasped when the owner of BHs and Arcadia made his record bid for the shirt, said to have been worn by England's Ben Kay.

But as Mr Green was presented with his purchase - mounted in a glass case and in pristine condition - Kay denied the shirt was his.

The England lock said he wore two shirts during the game, both of which were ripped and dirty.

He kept one and gave the other to his opposite number. He said: "It's fantastic that an England shirt has raised that.

I would like to thank Philip Green for his generosity, but it's not my shirt."

Mr Green, who bought the shirt at an auction at the Natural History Museum for the Rainbow Trust, at which more than £2 million was raised, said: "For me who it is from was not relevant.

"I was bidding for an England shirt from the final signed by the players - it's something special."