Co-operative Group chairman resigns following Flowers scandal
The Co-operative Group chairman Len Wardle has resigned after the emergence of video footage showing the former Co-operative Bank chairman Paul Flowers allegedly trying to buy illegal drugs.
In statement issued today, The Co-operative Group said that Wardle had resigned as chair of The Co-operative Group and from the board with immediate effect. He will be replaced by Ursula Lidbetter who is currently group deputy chair and chief executive of the Lincolnshire Co-operative Society.
Wardle 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.
“I have already made it clear that I believe the time is right for real change in our operations and our governance and the board recently started a detailed review of our democracy. I hope that the group now takes the chance to put in place a new democratic structure so we can modernise in the interests of all our members.”
Never Miss a Retail Update!Flowers, who was chairman of the The Co-operative Bank for over three years from April 2010, was filmed allegedly trying to buy cocaine. The Daily Mail also reported that Flowers boasted in a text message of getting “wasted” after his recent grilling by MPS over the bank’s performance. He resigned as chairman in June after a £1.5 billion black hole was discovered in the bank’s finances.
The Co-operative Group has now launched a “fact-finding process to look into any inappropriate behaviour” and is also looking at its democratic structure.
Today The Co-operative Group said that Lidbetter would chair the group through the governance review, which will include consideration of how the board is constituted and chaired.
