Letters Of The Day: Lord Browne

Last week's Guardian Weekend.

Guardian Weekend.

See also the slightly more interesting Guardianwitness - readers write about coming out at work.

PS BBC Radio 5 Live interview with Richard Bacon.

And finally...

“I wish I had been brave enough to come out earlier in my tenure as CEO of BP,” he says. “I regret it to this day. I know that if I had done so I would have made more of an impact for other gay men and women.” He’s not kidding. In 2006, when The Independent on Sunday was compiling its annual Pink List – a celebration of Britain’s most influential lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people – a courtesy call was made to BP to make sure its CEO was willing to be mentioned. On the other end of the line, there was a sharp intake of breath, and a pause. “I don’t know what you are suggesting, but it is not in the least appropriate that his name is associated with that article,” said an unnamed spokesman. If we knew who it was, we’d send them a copy of Browne’s book.

Between The Covers, Independent On Sunday.

Lord Bowne: Out In The City

'Although the UK has some well-known gay entrepreneurs, only a handful of openly gay people have run the largest companies.
'These include Sir Charles Allen, former chief executive of ITV, executive chairman of Granada and chairman of EMI, currently regional ambassador for the Olympic Games. Lord Browne was another, though he stayed in the closet for years.
'There is also Michael Bishop, now Lord Glendonbrook, the ex-chairman of BMI, whose success in building up the airline led to a £223m sale to Lufthansa in 2009. He sits on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords and is a prominent voice for gay rights.

'Another is Tim Hely Hutchison, group chief executive of Hachette Livre UK, Britain’s largest publisher, an old Etonian and son of an earl. He went to Oxford, but started his business career from scratch.
'Entrepreneurs include Allegra McEvedy, the chef who co-founded Leon, the healthy fast-food chain. 'She gave up her role there in 2009 to focus on writing and television.
'In the media, notable entrepreneurs include Eileen Gallagher, founder of Shed Media, creator of the television series Footballers’ Wives. She earned £3.8m from a £100m takeover by Time Warner.
Prominent gay figures in the City have included Ashley Steel, recently promoted to be vice-chairman of KPMG’s UK arm, and Robert Taylor, former chief executive of Kleinwort Benson.'

Financial Times. 
This list was written as a postscript to a news story about Lord Browne - former head of BP - giving a talk in London on the business world's intolerance of homosexuality.

Browne quit BP in 2007 after being found guilty of lying in court about how he'd met his boyfriend.

He has said "being outed is a blessing".
His business and political careers suggest he has made a pact with Satan. 

• BBC TV News item. And Andrew Pierce putting the boot into Browne in the Mail.

Stonewall: Investing In Death

Stonewall have just launched their new subsite - Proud Employers.
"Jobs with LGB friendly employers".
No T for trans - natch.
Proud Employers main "Founding Partner" is Barclays.
Barclays are the biggest UK investor in the arms trade - worth £7.3 billion (War On Want).
Which would buy you a hell of a lot of cluster bombs.
The second founding partner is Credit Suisse - the tax-dodger's friend.
Third are the Earth-destroying crooks at BP.
So fucking proud!

Fagburn Awards 28: Evil Queen Of The Year

Lord Browne.
Former Chief Executive of BP. Oversaw a severe programme of cuts that has led to a string of ecological disasters like this year's Deepwater Horizon explosion and Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Resigned after committing perjury due to his own closetry.
Headhunted by David Cameron to oversee a severe programme of cuts in the Tories' government spending.
The Browne Review recommended lifting the £3,000 cap on university tuition fees.
And the rest, as they say, is you making history...

Lord Browne: A Blessing In Disguise

Lord Browne, former BP boss, writes in The Guardian today; 'Being outed is a blessing - It's a great shame a public figure like David Laws still felt a need to hide his sexuality as I once did.'
Quite.
At the end of June, Browne was appointed as a chief government advisor - the coalition's "lead Non-Executive Director" no less.
This means he will be trying to identify lots and lots of cuts that can be made in Whitehall spending.
Browne doesn't mention this - nor, oddly, does a companion piece on the front page of The Guardian.
His new job will probably make Lord Browne about as popular as... well, as popular as his old firm the Gulf of Mexico-polluting BP are at the moment.
The first reader's online comment after Browne's article says; "I didn't know your sexuality and didn't care. I still don't care.
"Your record of cost-cutting in vital areas of safety and maintenance while in charge at BP, however, means that I consider you unfit for your current role as a highly paid government advisor. We won't even mention whether the chairman of a company with as many safety violations as yours had should have been honoured by a peerage."
Quite.

Lord Browne: Meet the Old Boss

The Financial Times reports that Lord Browne, the former head of BP, "has been approached by David Cameron to spearhead a new Whitehall efficiency drive."
Or, as we say in English, to cut civil service spending to buggery.
It neglects to mention why Browne is the former head of BP.
He was forced to resign as chief executive in 2007 after it was discovered that he had lied in court over how he'd met his former lover, Jeff Chavelier.
Browne was in the closet, and didn't want to admit that he'd found his boyfriend through the "male escort" site suitedandbooted.com. There were also allegations he'd spent BP resources on Chevalier.
Browne had spent six months in court trying to stop the Mail On Sunday from running any stories about their relationship.
So the former head of BP - thanks to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster arguably the most reviled corporation in the world right now - who to coin a phrase "did a David Laws" now looks set to join Team Cameron.
I wonder how this one will play out in the press?