Paul Flowers' first scandal - How disgraced bank boss hit the skids in Black Country

And today we can reveal his first scandal, while standing as a key figure in the Black Country almost 30 years ago.

And at one point, he was even chosen as a candidate to seek election as an MP in the West Midlands.

The former chairman of the Co-Op Bank was a leading figure in the Labour movement in the Black Country where he was secretary of the West Bromwich West Labour Party.

The former MP for the area, Baroness Betty Boothroyd, describes him as a 'Jekyll and Hyde' character who was full of enthusiasm, but had no 'real commitment.'

Speaking exclusively to the Express & Star, the former speaker of the House of Commons recalled how Rev Flowers would call meetings of the party but then fail to turn up himself.

The remarks may further enflame the row over his selection as chairman of the Co-Op Bank, where he was paid £132,000 a year.

Rev Flowers had been a minister at Hill Top Methodist Church in West Bromwich in September 1985 when he was chosen by the Labour party to stand in Meriden, Warwickshire.

But he stood down after less than three months when concerns were raised over his past. Rev Flowers had been convicted of gross indecency in Hampshire in 1981.

The Methodist Church forgave him for the incident and Rev Flowers went on to be selected as the Labour candidate.

Rev Flowers blamed the decision to stand down on a 'whispering campaign' about his sexuality and also said his conviction was due to being gay in a 'pressurised and intolerant society'.

He was supported at the time by the Rev Christopher Hughes-Smith, then the chairman of the Birmingham District of the Methodist Church, who said the church had been aware of his background.

Baroness Boothroyd, MP for West Bromwich West from 1973 to 2000, remembered Mr Flowers with mixed views.

She said: "He was very helpful. But he let the party down. He was happy to do a lot of work and was secretary of the party.

"But he seemed to grow weary of it. I think West Bromwich was not big enough for him.

"He was a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde character. Not in a nasty way. He had a wonderful enthusiasm but there was no real commitment there."

In November 1981 he also raised funds for charity by pledging to lose 15lb in a 'sponsored slim'. He was supported by Baroness Boothroyd, who acted as adjudicator, and a group from the Boys Brigade.

The Express & Star's archives reveal he said he hoped to bring 'honesty, humanity and humour' back to politics.

A number of constituency members in Meriden were said to have been unhappy with his selection after details of the gross indecency conviction emerged.

In a resignation letter to constituency party leaders, the then 35-year-old wrote: "Within a relatively short time a whispering campaign began – not on political issues – but on the fact that I happen to be gay, and that I was once convicted of the sort of offence to which gay people are susceptible within a pressurised and intolerant society.

"I owe it to my own sense of self-respect and to those who employ me in the Church – and who have supported me through this charade – to resign now."

Rev Flowers, aged 63, is now on bail after being questioned by police officers 'investigating allegations of drug supply offences', having been suspended by both the Methodist Church and the Labour Party. Labour has stressed its current leadership knew nothing about his past. He had been under scrutiny as the chairman of the troubled Co-Op Bank, but he was filmed allegedly handing over £300 for cocaine and discussing buying other illegal drugs.

James Morris, Conservative MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, said: "Labour needs to look at Flowers' record in the West Midlands, after the shocking revelations already about his behaviour in the north."

Richard Costello, spokesman for Labour in the West Midlands, said: "Nobody in the Labour leadership knew anything about previous allegations regarding Rev Flowers.

"When recent allegations emerged, we took immediate action and suspended him."