A FORMER chairman of the Co-operative Bank has apologised after it was reported he was caught buying and using illegal drugs including crystal meth and crack cocaine.
Methodist minister the Reverend Paul Flowers was said to have been filmed buying the drugs days after he was questioned by the Treasury Select Committee on the bank's disastrous performance.
The Rev Flowers, who chaired the Co-operative Banking Group and the Co-operative Bank for three years, said in a statement: "This year has been incredibly difficult, with a death in the family and the pressures of my role with the Co-operative Bank.
"At the lowest point in this terrible period, 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."
A Methodist Church spokesman said Mr Flowers was suspended from church duties for three weeks pending an investigation, and police may be called in.
He added: "We expect high standards of our ministers and we have procedures in place for when ministers fail to meet those standards."
The Co-op has been trying to plug a £1.5 billion gap in its finances after it bought the Britannia Building Society and the c ollapse of plans to buy Lloyds bank branches.
The Rev Flowers, 63, is said to have been seen in his car in a video discussing the drugs he wants from a Leeds dealer.
He reportedly then counts out £300 and sends a friend to seal the deal. The bank declined to comment.
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