The shambolic state of the Co-operative Group was laid bare in a scathing verdict warning that the survival of Britain’s biggest mutual organisation was at stake.
The Co-op has been undermined by “reckless” dealmaking, “shocking” levels of debt and governance standards far worse than even the banks before the credit crunch, according to Lord Myners, the group’s senior independent director who was charged with overhauling the boardroom.
In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the City grandee who was installed as a Labour minister at the height of the credit crisis said: “I have observed the bad governance of the banks, but this is on an altogether worse level.
“The rate of deterioration has increased over the last half dozen years because of the recklessness of the strategy being pursued and supported by the board.”
You know, pay that enables the organisation to hire someone who can actually do the job?