Ex-Co-op Bank chairman arrested

THE former chairman of Manchester’s Co-operative Bank was arrested in Merseyside on Thursday night and is being quizzed by police in connection with a drugs supply investigation.

Rev Flowers, 63,  was questioned at a police station in West Yorkshire and later bailed until the New Year.

In the last week he has been suspended from the Labour Party and the Methodist Church, following allegations he bought and used illegal drugs.

Since the initial claims were made in a Sunday newspaper, more information has been divulged about his colourful past, sparking demands from senior politiicans led by Prime Minister David Cameron, for an investigation into why he was appointed at the Bank.

Business Secretary Vince Cable described the failure to adequately vet him in 2010 as a “serious failure of regulation”. Co-operative Group chairman Len Wardle resigned on Tuesday, having overseen the recruitment process.

The Co-operative Group says it will no longer pay-up the remainder of his contract, following his departure from his £132,000 post in June as it emerged there was a £1.5bn hole in the Bank’s balance sheet.

A statement said: “When Paul Flowers relinquished his responsibilities in June, it was agreed, as per his contractual obligations, that his fees for the rest of his period of office would be paid.

“Following recent revelations, the board stopped all payments with immediate effect and no further payments will be made.”