Co-op Bank and Flowers in line for multiple probes
Prime minister David Cameron announced this afternoon that there may well be an inquiry into the disgraced Paul Flowers' appointment as chairman of the Co-op Bank, and his suitability for the role. There are "lots of questions" to be answered, he said.
The inquiry would be ordered by chancellor George Osborne and arranged by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, Cameron said: "The chancellor will be discussing with the regulators what is the appropriate form of inquiry to get to the bottom of what went wrong here."
Flowers in already under a police investigation, after he was filmed allegedly buying and using drugs, including crystal meth and crack cocaine. Police officers have searched the Methodist minister's Bradford home.
BBC Business editor Robert Peston reports that, in addition to the probes into Flowers' appointment and suitability, and Flowers himself, the Financial Services Authority is weighing up whether to launch a formal "enforcement" investigation into events that preceded the near collapse of Co-op Bank, to assess whether, during that time, the lender broke financial rules.