BP's company statement is the primary source for the decision. The board said it had been "surprised and disappointed" to learn of issues it considered unacceptable and had acted unanimously. The statement did not describe the underlying conduct, identify an incident or say when the board first learned of the concerns.
The Associated Press and The Guardian reported the same core sequence: Manifold left less than a year after taking the role, Tyler became interim chair immediately, and BP will begin a search for a permanent chair. The Guardian reported that Manifold became chair in October 2025 after previously serving as chief executive of CRH.
The limits of BP's disclosure matter because the chair leads the board and represents shareholder oversight of management. Removing that person over governance, oversight and conduct concerns is different from a planned retirement or routine succession. It means the board concluded Manifold could no longer credibly hold the role, while leaving investors without a public account of the conduct at issue.
Investor unease had already been visible at BP's April 2026 annual general meeting. AP reported that 18% of shareholders voted against Manifold's election as chair. AP also reported that Glass Lewis urged investors to vote against him because of BP's decision not to consider a resolution from climate-focused investors and pension funds seeking an alternative strategy if fossil-fuel demand declined.
That context should not be overstated. The April vote did not remove Manifold, and BP's Tuesday statement did not connect his removal to the climate-resolution dispute. The Guardian attributed the investor opposition to Manifold's blocking of a Follow This resolution. US SIF, a sustainable-investment organisation, also described the vote as pushback over BP's refusal to put the Follow This resolution on the AGM agenda and said Glass Lewis advised a vote against Manifold. Those are separate, sourced explanations for the April opposition, not proof of the reason for Tuesday's board action.