The following details have been supplied by the TUC:
A former oil executive criticised for his role in a deadly BP refinery explosion, and whose last company was fined over 50 health and safety violations connected with fracking, has been appointed to lead the government's Major Projects Authority (MPA).
John Manzoni will be responsible for overseeing big-budget projects including the HS2 high-speed rail line and the new nuclear programme. His new role will come under the remit of the Cabinet Office, where his ex-boss Lord Browne, a former chief executive of BP, is the lead non-executive director. While at BP, an internal company report published in 2007 found Manzoni 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, taking 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.
Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said Manzoni’s “experience will be invaluable to the civil service and to taxpayers. I'm delighted he is joining the Cabinet Office, and this is a great example of how we can bring talented men and women with private sector experience into Whitehall.”
Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “John’s experience speaks for itself, and his leadership will ensure we continue to spend money wisely and eliminate the waste of the past.” Manzoni becomes the third BP old boy to be recruited by the current government to top posts. His former boss Lord Browne is the top non-executive director in the Cabinet Office, which oversees MPA. They were together implicated in the cost cutting project that led to the Texas City explosion. And in May 2013 John Morgan, who led BP Alaska when dangerous chemical practices led to a record fine and the firm being put on five years’ probation, was appointed by David Cameron to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) board.
