THE Coop’s former chief executive has hit back at his former employer in court, as the retailers seeks to overturn a multi-million-pound personal injury claim.
The Royal Court had previously awarded former chief executive Colin Macleod a £3.5 million payout after ruling he had suffered psychological injury over a plot to oust him from his position carried out by members of the board. The society is now appealing to the Court of Appeal.
Advocate Michael O’Connell, representing Mr Macleod, said the case was “simple” – that his client was subject to a campaign which targeted him “in secret” and which was carried out “improperly” and “unconscionably”.
“The purpose of the campaign was to remove him from post. There was, on the evidence, no justification for the campaign,” Advocate O’Connell said.
This caused Mr Macleod to suffer a foreseeable psychiatric injury – he was diagnosed with adjustment disorder – and be signed off from work.
During the first day of the hearing on Monday, the Co-op’s lawyer, Advocate Jeremy Heywood, said the treatment of Mr Macleod was not sufficiently harmful to incur “foreseeable harm”.
However, Advocate O’Connell referenced a key board meeting – which led to the Royal Court describing former Coop director Jennifer Carnegie as “extremely forceful” and led to two audits into Mr Macleod’s expenses being ordered – arguing that this had been “designed to have an impact”.
Meanwhile, Advocate O’Connell said, Mr Macleod “was imbued with co-operative values and his first response when faced with any conflict was to find out what the problem was and how he could fix it”.
The directors, whom Advocate O’Connell described as “the gang”, had tried to bring a no-confidence vote against Mr Macleod, which the advocate described as “a hugely destructive corporate event” that necessarily creates “only one winner”.
The Court of Appeal hearing is due to finish today.
Michael Furness KC is presiding over the Court of Appeal, with Angus McCullough KC and Dame Julia Macur sitting.
