ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ

I don't give a damn about Lord Browne's sexuality but as a BP shareholder I consider a 12m pension obscene.

It is very sad. Business is probably still a difficult world in which to be 'out', and Browne may rightly have regarded it as nobody's business but his own. As it used to be said of government, the risk is probably not in being gay, but being prone to extortion or willing to obfuscate in order to conceal that fact.

Β£15m is a lot of money, but Lord B was paid about Β£3m last year in salary and bonuses, notwithstanding share awards. He's got enough to keep the discrete butler!

Yesterday, ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔi ran a story about the putative end of the battle for gay equality.

Today, you are reporting on the Daily Mail's prurient interest in the fact that some people in public life are gay. Lord Browne is not a hypopcrite, he is not behaving immorally or dishonestly, and he has never sought to publicise his personal life.

What a difference a day makes. The sooner the contemptible Daily Mail ends its pathetic war on gay people, the better.

Its shameful, that in this day and age, we as a society can't be more accepting. I applaud him for the fine work he has done for BP and BP's shareholders thus far.
What a shame that it should come to this.

Whilst not gay myself, I really think the press is the most diabolical method of presenting the truth of anything about anybody.
I wonder just how many of the reporters on any of the so called "NEWS" papers are hiding the fact that they are gay. Would they own up, or as it is known "Come Out" if questioned. Or would they slither back under their stones. How about some relief from the "Zealots Of The PRESS" Let him who thinks he has nothing to hide stand up and be examined.

A *tragic" lie? No. Just a lie, surely?

What an ugly phrase 'hoist on the petard of how he tried...'. It detracts from whatever you are trying to say.

There are positive sides to this. He has
shown he is only human, and now it will
be just that little bit harder for other fat cats
to claim they are worth giant wages, when
in fact they are merely flesh and blood like
the rest of us.

Lord Browne is and was one of the best leaders of any British or international companies. The care and diligence with which he raised BP from potential ashes and turned it into the global powerhouse that it is today is recognised within the company, in the wider business and indeed political world. It was known for years that he was Gay, and those who value professionalism and performance never talked abouit this, I assume because it was irrelevant to his accomplishments and the undoubted high regard with which any intelligent person holds such a successful and human man.

I think it's a shame that he found it neccesary to lie in court and loose his job. If the story was about business rather than his personal life as the daily mail's editor suggests, then why is where Lord Browne met his lover a relevant part of the story?

Another odious campiagn of associated press against gay people dressed up as something else. Everyone who works at this pathetic so-called newspaper should be ashamed of themselves.

Philip Lloyd, lets not let the spectacles be too rose tinted. He built a company with a poor safety culture. That is far from acceptable in this day and age.

Is anyone else finding Browns's loss of 15 million quid & the loss of 15 lives at bp's refinery in Texas strangely symetrical?

karmagedden

Any example of tabloid obsession with the private lives of the rich and famous..Where was the Daily Mail when BP had an explosion in Texas in 2005? there was no front page headlines then! Its appaling the way the media tries to make profit out of the private misfortunes of others.

I'm not sure Battersea Park is any better than an escort website, given certain parts of Battersea Park are - ahem - shall we say similar to Clapham Common or Hampstead Heath.

Homosexuality OK... Lying under Oath in the Queen's Court..... Strip his Title.

"So Lord Browne has been hoist on the petard of how he tried to block Mr Chevalier's interview"

The phrase is "hoist with one's own petard" - a petard is a small bomb. Even if the usage were correct, it's still a singularly inelegant sentence :)

Would Lord Browne have lied so readily if he had expected fair treatment by the Daily Mail? I doubt it, he expected his sexuality to come to the fore, over and above allegations over his business conduct.
Otherwise, wouldn't the Mail have spent the time and money investigating what turned out to be baseless claims at BP, rather than outing him.
BP shareholders can't really quibble at the pension, I'm guessing that by any reasonable performance indicators, he has done well for his shareholders, you only have to look at Vodafone to see the opposite

Why does the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ consider his lie to be 'Tragic'?

The man lied to a court of law, surely that is perjury??

Why isn't the police involved, why is the judge defending his actions??

Nige

This simply goes to show that in certain spheres of life being gay and β€˜out’ is sadly still not acceptable. If it were then The Mail would not have decided to publish this and Lord Browne would not have been foolishly tempted to lie under oath about it. There is still a long way to go in the struggle for equality. Frankly, one of the saddest facts is that supposedly reputable news organisations like the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ feel the need to publish this trash.

What an amazing series of events - its almost Shakespearean. Power, personalities, sexual intrigue, trust, truth, lies, honour, money! Who will play the leading role in the film?

Lord Browne hasn't lost his job because of his sexuality. He's lost his job because of an integrity issue - he lied under oath in a court of law. Will his title spare and protect him from due process or will we see him being prosecuted for perjury and tried like a lesser mortal?

It's none of my business whether Lord Browne (or any other figure not using his position to attack gays) is gay or straight, where he meets adult partners, or what he gets up to with them thereafter.
And it should be no concern of the press or of the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ.

Lying under oath is indeed more serious; but in this case the punishment seems out of all proportion to the crime.

I'm neither gay nor rich, but I feel very sorry for Lord Browne. He has been blamed for a "poor safety culture in BP" when in fact the "poor safety culture" was in Amoco, a US corporation that BP took over and has been trying to bring into line with its own standards. And to be forced to resign by the "Mail on Sunday" because he was being blackmailed by a fellow whom that tabloid newspaper might have called a rent boy is a sad comment on our age. Some of us thought we had grown out of that sort of thing.

He is the outstanding business leader of the last decade, without whom those BP shareholders now decrying his pension might not have had a company to have shares in.

The Mail on Sunday and it's sister rag the Mail had no real story of any merit. The claim was that it was of interest in the business community. I was not aware that anyone of merit in the business community reads such trashy titles as the "Mail". The real story was the kiss and tell from an unstable and vulnerable young man, who was given "living expenses" by the Mail in exchange for his story. No doubt they can justify their position by the inevitable increase in circulation that will now occur as the good old British public salivates freely whilst reading the juicy tittle tattle they will publish.

I feel very sorry for Lord Browne and his ex-lover. Both of whom have been exploited.

If I was the Daily Mail reporter, I'm not sure I could live with myself after this.
What a pathetic excuse for a story from a pathetic excuse for a rag. I'm not a fan of oil companies but I wouldn't wish this on anyone (except perhaps for the editor of the Daily Mail).

Browne presided over a decentralised company that cut costs ending in many deaths, 15, and many many injuries, 180, atthe Texas City refinery in 2005. Decentralisation is the get out clause for executives. None of them saw fit to resign. Why should they? 15 deaths is `an incident` or `an accident`.
The same Texas City plant has seen another death and many incidents, five in the last six weeks in fact, since then. Browne also risked it all in Russia and Hayward presided over delayed projects Thunder Horse and Atlantis. There are still court cases to come over Texas City and the record spill in Alaska and Gazprom is circling some of its Russian fields. Who would want to invest in this shambles Browne - who lied to a court and trashed his former boyfirend without any evidence - has left?

Judged by the behavior of the English press, and the comments posted here, one can only conclude the following:

Brits are still as homophobic as ever.

Brits are still class driven and pathetically jealous of anyone more successful than themselves.

"Old Europe" indeed

Well as an employee of bp, I have to say I'm very sad to hear about this. Lord Browne was a true inspiration to all of the 100,000 employees that work at bp.

He really has been a true representation of good leadership through his decade or so in the top job, and he will be remembered for building one of the world's biggest companies.

Whilst his premature exit is a huge shock, I feel that this doesn't come down to a 'lie', or some 'media intrusion'; this comes down to a bitter ex-lover who was no longer getting his life paid for. For that to bring down one of this country's greatest leaders, is a great great shame.

Good luck Lord Browne. We here at bp will miss you.

Comment 1 (david) is talking tosh. a 12m pension scheme is well worth it, if you consider the mess BP was in when Browne took over. What would david rather, that John Browne took less, but then consequently the company became a target rather than a predator!!!
As for John Brownes sexuality, he should have just been honest in court, it's no big deal being gay today.

Through the CSB report and the Baker Report regarding the 15 fatalities at Texas City Refinery it has been more than proved that BP is operated with very little Engineering Integrity, it seems that the company is totally focussed on money at all costs. The revelations of yesterday regarding Browne demonstrate his complete lack of integrity and cavalier attitude to British Law…. May be there is some connection here. I find it very sad that her resigned now, when he should have resigned after the death of the 15 contractors at Texas City, or at least once the Baker Report was published…. Why have the journalist pursued the β€œGay Story” whilst completely ignoring the corporate incompetence story?

It is disappointing to observe what small minded, mean spirited people appear when a staggeringly successful and acclaimed industrialist is compromised by the gutter press for what is, after all, a private matter. Does anybody care any more what sexuality a person has? Shame on the society and legal system that allows this mischief to occur by a sad press rag against a significant contributor to Britain's current wellbeing. Surely there are enough targets among MP's, The Lord's and the judiciary to feed the suspect thrills of even the Mail on Sunday readers.

He was over-rated, overpaid and also a liar. Good bye sweetie!

Browne was honorable to resign to save the company from embarassment as he says. Could you see any of our self serving politicians being any where near as honest as Browne. No they would tell far more and bigger liese whilst still keeping their financial benefits.

If Browne can cynically forswear himself - three times - in court documents one wonders how much faith one can have in his disingenuous protests that he did not improperly spend BP resources on his catemite?

Perhaps Browne will now do an Al Gore, and publicly express his personal views. He can now talk freely about the long term prospects for hydrocarbon extraction from the ground, namely that this business area must shrink dramatically over the next few decades. Perhaps we can get a preview by editing out the more obvious shareholder reassurances from his recent speech at Stanford:

I recently left the company after a decade. His sexuality was well known. His use of the truth was also well known. I am afraid their are alot more skeletons in this cupboard.

Isn't it ridiculous that business is still in the dark ages and someone who has done so much for wealth creation. Lord Browne should be appluaded for his contribution and not hounded for his personal life.

The recent history of BP indicates that all was not well within the organisation, which as the business pundits indicate was put in that position by the efforts mainly by Lord Browne. I believe that he will be remembered for images of city 'fat cats', deaths due to over eargerness to protect profits, environmental damage, due to the same, and perjury.
Let us not be too quick to shed a tear over the ethics followed by this individual.

I'm sure we've all made terrible errors of judgement over former lovers - particularly those who attempt a hatchet job on our reputation. You don't have to be gay for that.

What distinguishes this for me is that if he were not gay, the gutter press would presumably not have paid the slightest attention to what his former lovers had to say about him.

What a pity that Browne did not do Greek at school.
This has all the ingredients of a Greek trajedy. The man flies high and is brought down by an internal flaw.

If he had just said the truth, it would have blown over in a few days.
But,like Archer and Aitken, he had to lie and just like those two he now faces prison and derision.

Bring back Greek

What does Jeff Chevalier want out of all of this?

There is no "personal tragedy" here. He attempted to manipulate the court by lying, was found out, and has been duly punished.

So what is the real issue here? The loss of a bonus? No. The fact that he lied under oath? No. The fact that a so-called news paper used the fact John Browne is gay to get back at him for slapping an injunction on them? YES!

BP has already investigated these claims and found no case to answer. Browne should have let them run this "story" and then sued the Mail on Sunday for every penny it has. And how stupid to try and blame Browne for the events at Texas City - try reading the indpendant report if you want to know the facts, or keep reading the Mail if you want fiction.

Hmm... his lover sends and email saying " I have nothing to lose and need some money"....Browne says "no" and then a kiss and tell starts to emerge with the Mail! Gosh it must all be true. I mean a spurned lover would never lie about anything if presented with a cheque from a greasy hack organsiation would they?

what has a man's sexuality got to do with the media? Nothing!

As an oil insider I have little regard for the way Browne ran BP and find the fact that he alledgedly lied using his position and his title as evidence of his integrity not at all surprising.

He is of course apparently good friends with Tony Blair. Perhaps lying is infectious.

The details of Lord Browns's personal life are not important. However, he has boosted BP's profits in the last ten years by systematic underinvestment in
maintenance, saftey and long term development. BP now faces falling reserves, falling income and massively rising costs. He should have been fired for incompetance, not allowed to resign.

While feeling sorry for Lord Browne, let's not lose sight of the fact that the origin of this mess is the decision of a gay man (Mr Chevalier)to sell his story about his relationship to a tabloid, presumably for a considerable sum.
As long as people buy the tabloids to read details of the private lives of the rich and famous, the tabloids will continue to pay for such stories.
Someone of Lord Browne's obvious intelligence would no doubt have realised what he was getting into from the start and the potential for this to happen one day.

Lord Browne appears to have been more embarrassed about having met his partner through an agency than the fact of being gay, which was presumably well-known, if not openly discussed.

I met my wife through an agency, but have never disclosed that fact even to close family, maintaining the fiction that we met socially. I don't know why I feel so embarrased about it, but there is still a stigma attached, as though agencies are somehow a resort of the desparate.

However, I have to say that lying on oath in court seems excessive, and therefore represents very poor judgment on Lord Browne's part.

""Does anybody care any more what sexuality a person has? Shame on the society and legal system that allows this mischief ""

There are laws and there is Gods Law.
We can debate all we want but God is our judge and jury.

Lying is a sin with God
Gay sex is an abomination with God.
Its written in black and white.
God gave us law for our good because he loves us, he made us.

God doesn't care about our foolish opinions, ideas or ideals no matter how we all collectively try to avoid God's law.

and...Shame of "reporting it"? I think the real shame is people who say such falsehood as public life vs private life. All life is Gods. We each have one life. God's and He is the judge of our choices.

God hates sin.
But God loves sinners.
I am a sinner and need Jesus
Let us pray for Lord Browne.

It was common knowledge Lord Browne was gay...and who cares? Obviously the tabloids do!It is very sad that our society today,led by the Press,can ruin someone's life, in the blink of an eye! Agreed, Browne should not have lied but whose business is it how he met his companion!
He is an amazing man and has done wonders for BP......let's not forget that!I wish him luck and happiness.

I wonder why Lord browne's advocate didn't guide him before the hammer fell upon his head!

Many of the comments posted here & elsewhere refer to the alleged fact that it was known that Lord Browne was Gay by both BP insiders, journalists at large and the wider business community; as an ex-employee of BP I would agree with that assertion.

However, that being the case, why didn't the BP Board apply due dilgence to the Mail story when it surfaced in January and check the facts. Even a lowly DC could have discovered them quite easily.

However, the only fact that matters in this sad & sorry episode is that Lord Browne lied, presumably under oath, to a Court of Law. He has paid the price for that indiscretion not for where he chooses to meet his partners.

Hope the government look closely at Lord Brownes behaviour and consider withdrawing his title.
He may get just reward for acting in such a ruthless manner over company and employees during his tenure.
After all he too was an employee not a company owner or risk taker.
Disgruntled shareholder

"Tall Poppy Syndrome" is perhaps not the most appropriate of phrases here, but how some of the Press love to have the Sun King one minute, gay old fool the next. By now we should really know to expect such behvaiour from the gutter press. For it is only through chequebook journalism that the Red Tops (and here I will also have to include the Daily Hell and Hell on Sunday) can increase/stabilise their cirlucation. This near-hysterical reaction is met with incredulity on the Continent. A for lying (repeatedly) under Oath, well that was just plain silly

For those who think the ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ doesn't properly report the news, I, as an American and with great shame, point you to this site, supposedly covering the same event, or at least using it to as part of a story on a "pink ceiling"

There is no mention of any sort of lie. the very strong and clear implication is that the exec was forced to resign solely because it came out that he was gay.

perjury is when a lawfully sworn witness gives vital evidence which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true'

Vital?

what a strange range of rants!

1. if you were in his situation, would you describe "meeting" on a website or when you first actually met

2. comments usually say more about the reporter than the reported (God help the Daily Mail)

3. His real legacy is that BP a significant pillar of Britain - not a fallen icon like BA or Boots

its shaming that so many people have taken this opportunity to treat him as they would not accept being treated themselves

John Browne is an amazing man, makes you want to try a bit harder!