'Mixed emotions' after 'sinister' campaign
The former Chief Executive Officer of the Channel Islands Co-op, Colin MacLeod, says he feels a "melting pot of emotions" after Jersey's Royal Court ruled the organisation must pay him £3.5 million in compensation.
The judgment, one of the largest civil court payouts in the island's history, follows a lengthy legal battle after Mr MacLeod was removed from the organisation in 2020.
The court stated that the Co-op "failed in its duty of care", causing Mr MacLeod "psychiatric ill health" through a sustained and unjustified campaign to force him from office.
The judgment ruled that three non-executive directors of the Society's Remuneration Committee (RemCo) had acted in bad faith from early 2019 until Mr Macleod's dismissal in mid-2020, following his 30-year career with the society.
The Channel Islands Co-op has acknowledged the judgment, but says it "does not agree" with the findings and that they will appeal the decision.
Mr Macleod was awarded a further £40,000 in general damages for the injury, which led to him being signed off from work in May 2019, despite still being the CEO.
The organisation's insurance will cover the payout.
Speaking to ITV News, Mr Macleod said: "I've got this melting pot of emotions. On the one hand, very sad that I've had to fight this fight. On the other, I'm very proud to have fought.
"This was a sinister and horrible case of board dysfunction, infighting, personal ambition and abandonment of values that have held the Society in good stead for over a hundred years.
"The money is just a consequence of the actions that I took.
"I fell in love with the co-operative idea when I was 20. That hasn't changed. I'm not standing against the Co-op or what it stands for, only against those that abandoned those principles and values in favour of pursuing their own personal agendas."