Sources say that the ousted BP chair met with activist shareholder Elliott, without knowing other directors directly.

Two sources familiar with the situation said that former BP chairman Albert Manifold had met with activist shareholder Elliott Management while he was on the board, without telling his fellow members.

Manifold was fired by BP this week, after?less that eight months as Chairman. This sent BP's share price plummeting and dealt a serious blow to the leaderships 'attempt' to prove they had stabilized the ship. BP cited conduct and governance issues as the reason for Manifold's dismissal. BP hired Manifold in the last year to oversee efforts to restore investor confidence following years of strategy, leadership and debt changes. Helge Lund's shareholder support had dwindled before his departure.

Sources say that Manifold's meetings with Elliott, which were previously not reported, come after complaints of bullying towards both lower-level and executive staff. This has alarmed the board.

A spokesperson for?Manifold has not made any official comments on the meetings between Elliott and?Manifold.

One of two sources familiar with the matter said that Manifold's interaction with Elliott was not technically a violation of any rule, and it wasn't the "main reason" for his dismissal. However, they were an example where he acted unilaterally, and in bad faith, towards the other members of the board.

One source familiar with the matter said that the meetings with Elliott weren't hidden because Manifold informed BP’s investor relations team of his meeting with Elliott. All shareholder interactions were supposed to be reported as part of regular investor relations updates.

The activist hedge fund in the United States, Elliott, disclosed last year that its stake in BP was over 5%. Since then it has not updated publicly how much it owns. Elliott wanted BP cut costs, to shift spending and focus from renewable projects towards oil and gas, and to simplify BP's organizational structure. Sources have said this over the last year. Manifold wanted BP to revamp faster, and the majority of these changes were implemented in recent months.

Elliott declined to comment on any meeting with Manifold. BP refused to comment, and when asked how information should be shared about these meetings, referred to previous statements about Manifold’s conduct.

"FALSE NARRATIVE"

Manifold said that his dismissal was without warning and he would challenge any "false story". "Is it conceivable that in my desire to bring about change, on the cost, performance, balance sheet, and shareholder communications I pushed people hard and challenged them directly?" "Yes, it's true," he said Thursday in a press release.

He added: "I do not accept that people can tell lies about me or that they should be allowed anonymity to comment on?my experience at BP." Sources told us on Wednesday that Manifold had hired Mishcon De Reya as his legal counsel in the wake of his dismissal.

On Thursday, a spokesperson for Manifold refused to comment about what action, if any he planned to take against BP.

Manifold is the 'third sudden or forced departure of a senior BP -leader in three year after former CEOs Bernard Looney, and Murray Auchincloss. This raises questions about BP's ability to deliver a strategy for turnaround that investors were only beginning to support.

Four sources said that Manifold's aggressive behavior with colleagues in the company made his position untenable. The company has named Ian Tyler as interim chairperson.

(source: Reuters)