The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
    • Shows & On demand
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

Current affairsNews

Co-op Group chair resigns amidst banking chairman drug scandal

Co-op Group chair resigns amidst banking chairman drug scandal
19 November 2013
Abbie Cavendish
Avatar
Abbie Cavendish
19 November 2013

The chairman of the Co-op Group has resigned, effective immediately, following the “serious questions” raised over the conduct of the Group’s former banking chairman, Paul Flowers.

Mr Flowers, who left the Co-op in June this year, has been suspended from both his position as a Methodist Minister and as a Labour Party member over allegations that he paid £300 for cocaine in a drugs deal which was filmed in a newspaper sting just three days after giving evidence at the House of Commons Treasury Committee.

Mr Flowers has since apologised for his actions, saying: “I did things that were stupid and wrong. I am sorry for this, and I am seeking professional help, and apologise to all I have hurt or failed by my actions.”

However, Len Wardle, the chair at the Co-op Group, has stood down immediately and is taking full responsibility for the appointment of Mr Flowers to his position three years ago. Although initially due to retire in May 2014, Wardle has said that it is more appropriate for him to step down now.

In a statement, he said: “The recent revelations about the behaviour of Paul Flowers, the former chair of the Co-operative Bank, have raised a number of serious questions for both the bank and the group. I led the board that appointed Paul Flowers to lead the bank board and under those circumstances I feel that it is right that I step down now, ahead of my planned retirement in May next year.”

Mr Wardle continued by asserting that the next Co-op Group chair needs to come from outside the current board, as well as suggesting a review of the structures and hierarchies inside the bank.

His role has been taken temporarily by deputy chair Ursula Lidbetter, who has headed the local Co-operative branch of the Group since 2004.

Abbie Cavendish

Related Items

More in Current Affairs

Changes to expect during menopause

The editorial unit
Read More

Nek brings Italian pop rock to the Shepherd’s Bush Empire

The editorial unit
Read More

Why Equity Linked Savings Schemes is a preferred tax saving?

The editorial unit
Read More

How the world’s top designers would rebrand political parties

The editorial unit
Read More

Royal baby furore: Proof that the British monarchy is still popular?

Eoin O’Sullivan-Harris
Read More

World Mental Health Day 2018: Raising awareness and combating stigma

The editorial unit
Read More

Seven political personalities you should know about

The editorial unit
Read More

Donald Trump: An enemy of the arts?

The editorial unit
Read More

Trump’s fortune: Where did the money come from?

The editorial unit
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • An interview with Ifrah Ismael: Tales from the Front Line and other stories
    Theatre
  • Female filmmakers lead nominees for the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Jeremiah Fraites: Piano Piano
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Win a copy of Link on Blu-ray
    Competitions
  • Unlimited Festival at the Southbank Centre: Centre stage for diversity
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • RSC Next Generation: Young Bloods proves Shakespeare is timeless
    Theatre
  • The White Tiger
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The different types of Covid testing explained
    Tech & Sport
  • WandaVision: Marvel’s charming sitcom proves an astounding success
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • The Queen’s Gambit: A chess story that’s not about the moves but the motives
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
  • Undercover at Morpheus Show Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Ten short literary collections to get you back into reading
    Literature
  • Mayor
    ★★★★★
    Cinema
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Al-Qaeda rebels apologise as they admit they beheaded the wrong person
Nuclear talks with Iran resume in Geneva