Ex bank boss ‘still struggles with addiction’
DISGRACED former Co-operative Bank boss Paul Flowers claimed he still battles with addiction, following a drugs sting which prompted his removal from the list of Methodist Church ministers.
The so-called Crystal Methodist, 66, was last week stripped of the title Reverend and the power to lead services for “seriously impairing the mission, witness or integrity of the Church”.
While accepting the outcome of disciplinary proceedings, he said he lacked “the same respect for the church” and its handling of the incident was not “helpful”.
He told Radio 4’s Sunday Programme it would be a “lie” to suggest his substance problems were completely behind him. Mr Flowers was suspended by the church in 2013 following allegations he bought and used illegal drugs.
Coupled with claims of inappropriate expenses payments four years ago, the accusations swelled into a storm of controversy that forced him to step down as chairman of the Co-operative Bank.
“The truth is that I think all of us struggle with issues of addiction and we have different addictions that affect millions of us in this country,” he told the programme.
“I’m not going to tell you a lie that it’s behind me totally, because it isn’t, but I believe it’s now largely behind me, but we still struggle with addiction of different sorts.”