"These flaws contributed to the appointment of a man with no knowledge of finance and no experience of running the board of a major corporation as the chairman of Co-op Bank in the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis," Tyrie, who chairs parliament's Treasury Select Committee, said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Britain's financial services watchdog defended its role in approving Flowers, who was arrested last year as part of an investigation into the supply of illegal drugs, as chairman of the Co-op Bank in 2010.

(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Laura Noonan)