Former US oil executive John Manzoni, criticised for his profits-before-safety role in a deadly BP refinery explosion and whose last oil company was fined over 50 health and safety violations connected with fracking, has been appointed the first chief executive of the Civil Service – the latest in a series of high level appointments of disaster-linked BP old boys.
A UK government announcement pointed to Manzoni’s “proven track record in running large, complex, commercial organisations and his reputation for creative strategic thinking and a focus on results.”
While at BP, an internal company report published in 2007 found Manzoni (above) should be held accountable for the Texas City refinery blast that killed 15 people and injured 170. He resigned from the company shortly after publication of the report, which criticised Manzoni’s focus on results and the company’s related cost-cutting measures.
He then took up a role as chief executive at Talisman Energy, a company heavily engaged in fracking in the US. In July 2012 Talisman agreed penalties of more than $60,000 for alleged violations in reporting hazardous chemicals at 52 sites in Pennsylvania. Manzoni left his Talisman post shortly after.
Another BP old boy hand-picked by the prime minister is at the heart of the UK’s safety regulatory system. Former BP Alaska and North Sea chief John Morgan was appointed by David Cameron last year to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) board. Like John Manzoni and his former boss as BP chief executive Lord John Brown, now the top non-executive director in the Cabinet Office, Morgan has been criticised in reports and the courts for corner-cutting on safety.