BP has dismissed its chief executive Bernard Looney with immediate effect and clawed back more than £32m of his pay and share awards including half of the cash bonus paid to him in 2022.
Looney stepped down from his post in September after admitting he had failed to fully disclose a series of personal relationships with his colleagues to the board. After an investigation by the board and its advisers, the oil company has concluded Looney knowingly misled his fellow directors last year when they sought assurances regarding his disclosure of past relationships and his future behaviour.
BP said that after careful consideration it believed this amounted to “serious misconduct” and had dismissed the executive without notice.
Looney will receive no further salary, pension allowance or other benefits from the date of his dismissal and he will not be paid any annual bonus in respect of the financial year 2023, according to a company announcement.
Looney will also be required to repay 50% of the cash portion of his annual bonus for the 2022 financial year – totalling £420,000 – and a portion of his share awards that vested in August 2023 from the three-year 2020-2022 performance share plan.
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“In providing inaccurate and incomplete assurances in July 2022, Mr Looney knowingly misled the board. The board has determined that this amounts to serious misconduct, and as such Mr Looney has been dismissed without notice effective on 13 December 2023. This decision had the effect of bringing Mr Looney’s 12 month notice period to an immediate end,” BP said.
