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BP CEO resigns to shield private life from media

"My initial witness statements ... contained an untruthful account about how I first met Jeff ... This account, prompted by my embarrassment and shock at the revelations, is a matter of deep regret."

-- John Browne, outgoing BP CEO

BP CEO John Browne resigned hours after a judge allowed a newspaper to publish allegations made by a man with whom the executive had a four-year relationship that he misused company resources.

Browne, who had already moved up his departure by more than a year after a deadly refinery blast in Texas and a giant oil spill in Alaska, denied any improper conduct relating to BP Plc. But he acknowledged on Tuesday that he had lied to a judge about how he met his former partner.

The Mail on Sunday, the newspaper that sought to publish the claims, immediately called for Browne to be prosecuted for perjury.

Browne said he regretted the lie, saying he was in shock at his private life being exposed, and was stepping down voluntarily "to avoid unnecessary embarrassment and distraction to the company."

"For the past 41 years of my career at BP I have kept my private life separate from my business life," he said.

Browne's designated successor, exploration and production head Tony Hayward, will take over as CEO immediately, the company said. He will have to repair BP's tarnished reputation after the series of high-profile operational and regulatory mishaps.

BP said Browne's decision meant he would lose a bonus of up to 1.3 times his annual salary, worth more than ?3.5 million (US$6.9 million). He would also forgo inclusion in a share plan with a potential value of ?12 million.

Browne, 59, had been fighting since January to keep the Mail on Sunday from publishing details from the interview with Jeff Chevalier. He acknowledged the relationship in the statement on Tuesday and apologized for lying to the judge.

"My initial witness statements ... contained an untruthful account about how I first met Jeff," he said. "This account, prompted by my embarrassment and shock at the revelations, is a matter of deep regret."

The Mail said it would provide evidence of Browne's deception to the attorney general's office.

"That Lord Browne should have felt free to lie deliberately and repeatedly raises deeply worrying questions about the system of secret court hearing which is increasingly being used by the rich and powerful to prevent the public knowing the truth about their activities," the newspaper said in a statement.

Browne was accused of using BP computers and staff to help Chevalier, of using support staff to set up and then wind down a company Browne created for him to run, and sending a senior BP employee on a personal errand to deliver cash to him.

Browne rejected the allegations, calling them "full of misleading and erroneous claims. I deny categorically any allegations of improper conduct relating to BP."

BP said an internal investigation determined that those allegations were unfounded.

"The board of BP has accepted John's resignation with the deepest regret," chairman Peter Sutherland said.

He called it "a tragedy that he should be compelled by his sense of honor to resign in these painful circumstances."

Shares in BP edged lower after the announcement, closing down 0.4 percent to 563 pence (US$11.24) on the London Stock Exchange.

Browne's decision will allow Hayward to start with a clean slate, said analyst Jason Kenney of ING Group. He said the news shouldn't affect the company's share performance, since Hayward already was selected to become the next CEO and the company's future strategy had been laid out earlier this year.
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