Former Labour Councillor And Bank Boss Charged With Fraud

Former Bradford Labour Councillor Paul Flowers, who was also a once a chairman of the Co-operative Bank, will appear before magistrates on fraud charges.

Paul Flowers, who represented the Labour Party for Bradford Council from 2001 to 2011, stands accused of abusing his authority to commit an act of fraud, and will attend Manchester magistrates on August 30th.

Flowers, 73, allegedly committed the fraud between June 2016 and October 2017. The specific details surrounding the allegations have not yet been released.

Between 2010 and 2013, Flowers, a former minister at a number of Bradford Methodist churches, served as chairman of the Co-operative Bank and the Co-operative Insurance Society. Regarding the specifics of the charge, the Crown Prosecution Service made no more remarks.

Flowers told The Mail on Sunday: “I saw the police just over four years ago. Since then I have not been cautioned, arrested or charged for anything.

‘As far as a court appearance is concerned, neither the police nor the CPS has been in contact about anything.’

When asked to explain the contradiction, he did not respond.

Flowers resigned from the bank – which trades under the slogan ‘ethical then, ethical now, ethical always’ – in June 2013.

Flowers served more than 15 years as a Labour Party councillor on Rochdale and Bradford councils.

During this period, in 2010, he was appointed to the party’s finance advisory board by then Labour leader Ed Miliband.