The former chairman of the Co-op Bank has been arrested in Merseyside in connection with a "drugs supply investigation", the BBC understands.
Paul Flowers, 63, was filmed allegedly handing over £300 for cocaine and discussing buying other illegal drugs.
Following the revelations he was suspended from both the Methodist Church, where he was a minister in Bradford, and the Labour Party.
He left his position as deputy chairman of the Co-op Group in June.
In a statement, West Yorkshire Police said: "Officers have... arrested a 63-year-old man in the Merseyside area in connection with an ongoing drugs supply investigation.
"He has been taken to a police station in West Yorkshire where detectives will continue their enquiries."
Payments stoppedThe BBC has learned that Mr Flowers resigned from the Co-op Group over concerns about his expenses.
Our business editor Robert Peston says he stepped down after being confronted with a dossier of his "lavish claims", compiled by the then chairman Len Wardle.
Separately, he was forced out of its banking arm because of doubts about his competence for the job.
The bank is seeking to recover money paid to its former chairman who has been told to hand back £31,000.
"When Paul Flowers relinquished his responsibilities in June, it was agreed, as per his contractual obligations, that his fees for the rest of his period of office would be paid," it said in a statement.
"Following recent revelations, the board stopped all payments with immediate effect and no further payments will be made."
The bank is also looking at emails and other evidence as part of an "internal fact-finding review".
'Unjustified smears'Since the Mail on Sunday published a video of Mr Flowers allegedly paying for and discussing drugs, Labour have sought to distance themselves from the Methodist minister as a political row has developed over how he was allowed to reach a high position in the bank.
Until 2011 he was a Labour councillor in Bradford and subsequently served the party on what it says was an informal advisory group.
John Pennington, an opposition councillor who served alongside Mr Flowers, described him as "very believable, a very plausible chap".
"We were never informed why he left the council", he told BBC Radio 5 live.
End Quote Rev Gareth Powell Assistant general secretary, Methodist ChurchInevitably, it's regrettable when the allegations made against one minister then tarnishes the extremely good and honourable work undertaken by all of our ministers"
On Thursday, Ed Miliband accused David Cameron of "unjustified smears" over Labour's links with Mr Flowers.
The Labour leader said the prime minister was scoring "cheap political points" and ignoring serious regulatory issues.
The prime minister has suggested the Labour Party knew of concerns about Mr Flowers but did not act on them, but Mr Miliband said he was confident Labour had acted with "complete integrity".
Mr Cameron has ordered an inquiry into how Mr Flowers was considered to be a suitable chairman for the Co-op Bank.
But the government is also facing questions about why, in 2012, the Treasury supported the bank's attempt to almost treble in size when it was actually "falling apart", says our business editor.
Church questionsFormer Conservative leadership contender David Davis told the Financial Times newspaper problems should have spotted earlier by the Treasury and regulators.
"There are really serious questions to answer about what they were all doing," Mr Davis told the FT.
Meanwhile, the Methodist Church has said it is providing "pastoral care" for Mr Flowers, who is indefinitely suspended as a minister.
Assistant general secretary Rev Gareth Powell said: "Inevitably, it's regrettable when the allegations made against one minister then tarnishes the extremely good and honourable work undertaken by all of our ministers," he told the BBC.
"Certainly the actions that are now under public scrutiny inevitably raise a question about the role of the church."
It emerged this week Mr Flowers resigned from running drugs charity Lifeline in 2004 after allegedly lodging false expenses claims.
According to Thursday's Daily Mail, the figure involved was £150,000.
The Charity Commission said it had received a complaint at the time but had no evidence Mr Flowers "acted in bad faith or fraudulently".
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