The former Non Executive Chairman of the Coop Bank and former Labour Councillor in Rochdale Paul Flowers has been removed from the list of ministers of the Methodist Church.
Flowers was at the Manchester based bank when it was revealed that it had a £1.5 billion gap in its finances after it purchased the Britannia Building Society and aborted its plans to buy hundreds of Lloyds branches.
Flowers, who was also the chair of Manchester Camerata, was later exposed by the Daily Mail, which caught him buying and using illegal drugs including crystal meth, crack cocaine and ketamine.
The paper revealed Flowers filmed buying the substances just days after he was grilled by the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee over the bank’s disastrous performance.
Flowers stepped down as chairman of the Co-operative Bank amid the claims of illegal drug use and inappropriate expenses payments four years ago and admitted being in possession of cocaine, crystal meth and ketamine at Leeds Magistrates’ Court in May 2014.
He was suspended by the church following the allegations and has now been removed from the roll of ministers following an appeals period – meaning he can no longer use the title reverend or lead services.
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