A former senior executive at the Co-operative Group is today set to allege misconduct by its management in a court battle that will put the mutual back in the public spotlight.
Kath Harmeston, who was poached by the Co-op in 2014 to be its head of procurement, is to make a series of claims about the way Richard Pennycook, the chief executive, and other executives have run the ethical society during a period when it was supposedly being cleaned up.
Ms Harmeston alleges that she was unfairly dismissed five months into the job after she blew the whistle about corrupt or poorly judged practices. She is seeking more than £5 million in compensation.
Employment lawyers said the size of the claim, one of the largest