John Mann, Labour MP for Bassetlaw, pictured, said English speakers were 'snubbed' for jobs at a Sports Direct warehouse in Derbyshire

Native English speakers cannot get jobs at one of Britain’s leading high street giants, a Labour MP has claimed.

John Mann, the MP for Bassetlaw in Nottinghamshire, called for an urgent investigation into the sportswear chain Sports Direct’s warehouse, known locally as ‘the gulag’.

British workers living in his constituency near Sports Direct’s 800,000 square foot Shirebrook warehouse were snubbed for jobs at the Derbyshire site, he said.

‘Everyone in our area knows you can’t get a job in the warehouse at Sports Direct if you are an English native speaker despite 3,000 people working there,’ Mr Mann told MPs.

He added that there had been ‘a baby born in the toilets’ at the warehouse.

The mother, who gave birth on New Years’ Day in 2014, was a worker from Eastern Europe who had allegedly been discouraged from going home sick.

The company has already faced claims that staff were too scared to take time off sick and one MP called its billionaire owner a ‘monster’.

Mr Mann questioned why there had been over 80 ambulance call-outs over two years to a single warehouse at Sports Direct.

Mr Mann said: ‘Is it possibly the case that employees are too scared and not allowed time off to go see the doctor, and therefore there is a misdirection of NHS resources?’

The chain was also under suspicion of using ‘tied housing’ he said, where ‘people are too scared to speak because they are provided with a house to live in and the rent for it and the transport that they have to pay for to get to work’.

A ‘full investigation’ was needed into the chain, he said, as well as the agencies linked to it.

One of the recruitment agencies that Sports Direct uses is called Transline.

Its branch in Poland, Transline Polska, advertises warehouse jobs in the UK, promising accommodation and transport to and from work as part of the deal.

It also tries to lure young Poles to Britain aged 18 to 35 through a taxpayer-funded EU hand-out for ‘relocation costs’ worth £727 – or 1000 euros – through EURES, the European Employment Services.

Nick Boles, the Business Minister, confirmed the under-fire retailer could face Government action over claims it pays its workers less than the minimum wage.

He said that while no individual workers had complained to HM Revenue and Customs, the tax authority could take enforcement action.

Mr Boles added: ‘They will be listening to this debate’.

In a warning to Sports Direct’s owner, Mr Boles added: ‘I don’t care how famous an employer is. I don’t care how well-connected they are. I don’t care, frankly, how much money they have made. They need to obey the law. If they don’ t obey the law, we will find them and disqualify directors if necessary.’

Yesterday Labour’s Chuka Umunna triggered an emergency debate into the company.

Mr Umunna, the former shadow business secretary, said Sports Direct was a ‘bad advert for British business’.

Speaker John Bercow revealed that the Treasury had tried to block the debate, claiming it was ‘not urgent and should not be aired’.

Labour MP Dennis Skinner, who has the Shirebrook warehouse in his constituency, said of the billionaire owner, Mike Ashley: ‘That man has not made £6billion because he’s a considerate employer. He’s a monster of a man that doesn’t even reply to MPs’ letters – I’ve sent him many.’

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The Sports Direct warehouse in Shirebrook, Derbyshire, pictured

Conservative MP Marcus Fysh said Sports Direct ‘can have a somewhat aggressive attitude towards flexible working’.

An undercover investigation by the Guardian last week found agency workers at the firm were effectively earning below the minimum wage.

This was because they had to wait for about 15 minutes after each shift to be searched by security staff. They were also handed harsh penalties for being even minutes late.

A tannoy system was also used to ‘shame’ staff who were not deemed to be working fast enough.

Sources close to Sports Direct tried to distance themselves from the claims that it snubbed British workers, saying it was up to the agency to recruit who it wanted.

They confirmed the majority of workers in Shirebrook were Poles.

Most were recruited through agencies, including Transline.

A spokesman for Sports Direct said: ‘Our casual workers are an integral component of our workforce.

To be clear, no warehouse workers are on ‘zero hour’ contracts, all have contracted hours with the agencies. In retail, casual workers find the flexibility offered by these arrangements very useful.

‘We comply fully with all applicable legal requirements and will continue to keep these under review.

'A number of issues were raised by shareholders at our AGM which we have addressed, for example the inconvenience experienced by some warehouse workers from the logistics of the security process when exiting the warehouse.

'Following a review the process has been streamlined which has led to a reduction in waiting time.’