Manhattan Escorts: Is BP’s Former Chief John Browne Done Being Bitter Over the Outing That Cost …
It was in New York in 1973 that I discovered the work of the Greek poet CP Cavafy. He was gay and in the closet. His only outlet of self-expression was his poetry. He wrote: “From all the things I did and all the things I said let no one try to find out who I was … Later, in a more perfect society, someone else made just like me is certain to appear and act freely.” I wanted to agree with that but never thought it would apply to me.
In 2007 I resigned as chief executive of BP because I had made an untrue statement as to how I had met a boyfriend with whom I had broken up after an extended affair. He had sold his embellished tale to the Mail on Sunday. I attempted to keep it from publication, and in doing so I told a fabricated story (that I had met him running in Battersea Park, rather than through an escort agency) because I felt threatened about coming out. It was the same fear that had prevented me from going out to meet men in the usual way at parties, clubs and so on.