An inquiry is being carried out by Rochdale Council into Paul Flowers’ role as a councillor there.

The former Co-operative Bank chairman was a Labour councillor on Rochdale Council between 1988 and 1992.

The Reverend Flowers, 63, a Methodist Minister in Bradford, later served for ten years as a Labour councillor for the Great Horton ward in Bradford but quit in September 2011 after pornographic material was found on his Council laptop. He is now on bail after being arrested by West Yorkshire Police in an investigation into allegations that he bought and used illegal drugs.

A Rochdale Council spokesman said of its inquiry: “We are conducting our own investigations and reviewing documents from this period.”

Mr Flowers has been suspended by both the Methodist church and the Labour Party following the allegations against him.

An independent investigation into the running of the now troubled Co-op Bank has already been announced by Chancellor George Osborne.