FORMER government minister and High Sheriff of Greater Manchester John Lee has been ousted ''without warning'' from the board of north west flooring company James Halstead.

Members of the Halstead family, who together hold 40 per cent of the shares in the Radcliffe company, voted against Mr Lee at the company's annual meeting.

He had served as a non-executive director for about a year.

The family has given no reason for its decision, but it has caused a major split in the boardroom of the Stock Exchange-listed company, with chairman Vincent Clare and another non-executive director considering resigning in protest.

Mr Clare, chairman for the past 16 years, says he is ''outraged.''

''Both myself and my colleague John Williams, the other non-executive director, are considering our positions,'' he said.

''I consider John Lee to be a model non-executive director, as close to perfect as is possible. In 20 years of association with this company, first as legal adviser then chairman, I have never known anything like this. It is extraordinary.

''The ousting of Mr Lee has reduced the number of non-executive directors from three to two. There are three executive directors, so this is not a good thing from a corporate governance point of view.''

Mr Lee was removed from the board after a band of shareholders at the AGM last Friday called for a formal poll, rather than a vote by a show of hands.

The 12 million votes against him out-weighed nine million in his favour.

Mr Lee - who writes an occasional investment column in the Manchester Evening News, says he is ''angry and saddened.''

He says there were ''differences'' of opinion over a number of ''corporate governance issues'', but declined to elaborate.

''As one of three non-executive directors I felt that I had to make a stand. There are wider issues of corporate governance here, and there may be matters that are referred to the Stock Exchange authorities.''

Mr Lee, a chartered accountant who served as minister for tourism under Mrs Thatcher between 1987 and 1989, said the vote against him came without warning.

He is coming to the end of a 10-year stint as a non-executive director at another north west plc, Paterson Zochonis and also sits on the board of privately-owned property company Emerson.

Geoffrey Halstead, chief executive, who originally asked Mr Lee to become a non-executive director said he had voted for him to stay on the board.

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