The Co-op may not be listed but the row that erupted over executive pay and the subsequent resignation of chief executive Euan Sutherland will have resonated in the City.

The Co-op may not be listed but the row that erupted over executive pay and the subsequent resignation of chief executive Euan Sutherland will have resonated in the City.

There can be no excuse for rewarding failure, but surely there should be financial recognition for business leaders drafted in, as Sutherland was, to lead a turnaround.

The £3.7m package lined up for Sutherland was probably ill-judged but effectively included danger money. The snakepit that is Co-op politics is one reason, never mind the wider business challenge.

But whoever it was on the Co-op Group board that leaked details of Sutherland’s pay package must have spluttered over their Fairtrade coffee when they saw Sports Direct’s proposed £65m bonus share deal for founder Mike Ashley.

Few company directors could look forward to such rewards but, as Sports Direct argues, Ashley - who receives no other salary or bonus from the retailer - has played an integral part in its success.

How ironic that Sports Direct also runs a generous employee share scheme. If Co-op board members were more focused on business than internal politics, perhaps its members would be more likely to be sharing some profits.

But first it needs to make some.