Good grief, this is all a bit sudden isn’t it? Lord Browne clearing his desk and leaving BP immediately?

Lord Browne, one of the towering figures of the British business community, may face criminal charges after being forced to resign from the board of BP yesterday for lying in court about how he met his homosexual lover.
…
Lord Browne said three times in court documents that he had met Canadian-born Mr Chevalier jogging in Battersea Park, south London. But in fact the court was given documentary evidence that he met him through an escort agency.

All pretty trivial but perjury is perjury, it’s the lie under oath that’s the problem, not what the lie’s about.

Lord Browne, whose homosexuality had never been discussed in public before, said in a statement: "I have always regarded my sexuality as a personal matter, to be kept private.

Not quite sure about that: someone as far removed from the gossip columns as I has known for some years that he is gay. True, there’s not been a great deal of discussion about it as his sexuality is entirely irrelevant to his performance as a businessman, which is what the shareholders are paying him for.

During a legal battle that lasted almost six months behind the closed doors of the High Court, Lord Browne was accused of using BP’s resources and manpower to support or assist Mr Chevalier. He was alleged to have used BP computers and company staff to set up and then wind up a company for his lover. He was also accused of ordering a senior BP employee to run a personal errand by delivering cash to Mr Chevalier. He denies any improper use of company resources.

Whether Browne was going to stay at BP or not has been something of a long running story. From memory, wasn’t he going to extend his contract past 60? Then not, but step up to Chairman? Then, no, he’ll retire in the near future?  I don’t have an accurate timescale on all of those stories but again, from memory, the no he won’t become Chairman nor extend his contract roughly coincided with the start of this case, didn’t it? 

If so, whichever way the case turned out, he was on his way, the very fact that it was being fought at all curtailed his career.

(Update: From The Times:

He announced his retirement in January a week after The Mail on Sunday contacted the oil giant with allegations about the relationship with Mr Chevalier.

So that little piece of speculation appears to have some legs.)

I’m sure there will be some who take this as a story of homophobia in the Establishment of British business. I think it shows exactly the opposite actually. Let’s couch this in heterosexual terms. If a 55 year old CEO of one of the largest companies in the country (or world) shacked up with a 24 year old prostitute ("escort" is a euphemism you know) I think there would have been rather more tongue wagging, rather more pressure to resign, than there has been in this case. And imagine the furore that would result from a 55 year old female executive taking up with a 24 year old professional toyboy.

Double standards, certainly, but ones that seem to, from the reactions of those in the know over these past years, show that homopobia isn’t the problem, that actually rather more latitude has been given than would in those other cases.

Still a sad end to a career though.