Lord Myners to join Co-op board

FORMER Treasury Minister Lord Myners has been appointed to the board of The Co-operative Group and will head up its review into how the troubled business is run.

Lord Paul Myners, whose previous City roles include as chairman of retail giant Marks & Spencer, will take on the newly created role of senior independent director at the mutual.

He will lead a review of the group’s 160-year-old democratic process, as well as the make-up of its board and how it is chaired.

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His appointment comes as the Co-op faces mounting questions over corporate governance standards following the scandal surrounding disgraced former Co-op Bank chairman Paul Flowers and financial woes at its banking arm.

Concerns have been raised over the appointment process to the mutual’s board amid fears that ethical standards have taken precedence over experience when key figures have been appointed into power.

Ursula Lidbetter, the recently hired chair of The Co-op Group, said: “Our rules allow for the appointment of independent non-executive directors to strengthen the elected board members, and now is the right time to make that move.”

She added: “We have made it clear that we need to modernise and to embed the very best standards of corporate governance - while also ensuring that the voices of all our members and customers resonate through the business.

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“Paul is ideally placed to oversee that work given his extensive experience across business and public life.”

The Co-op will further strengthen its board with another two independent non-executive directors, it added.

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