Ex BP boss not Chevalier’s first sugar daddy
Lord Browne was not the first older man that escort Jeff Chevalier allowed to fund him, it has emerged.
Before coming to the UK, Mr Chevalier had a four-year relationship with a rich Canadian TV executive, John Trickey.
Like Lord Browne, Mr Trickey met the younger man when he was working as an escort.
The Times reports that Mr Chevalier had asked the peer for £300,000 as a payoff after their relationship ended.
Lord Browne resigned as chief executive of BP on Tuesday when it was revealed he lied to the High Court about where he initially met Mr Chevalier, 27.
In documents to the court the peer said they met in Battersea Park.
In fact Lord Browne hired him through an online escort service.
48-year-old Mr Trickey told The Times how he met Mr Chevalier.
“He was hooking to feed himself. I felt badly about him.
“So I started paying for his living arrangements. We went on vacation together, and we had nights out. I paid for everything, including his studies.”
Mr Chevalier is now back in Canada.
“Jeff told me that he wanted Lord Browne to pay for the rest of his tuition, and wanted £300,000. I wanted to help him so I phoned Lord Browne’s lawyer,” Mr Trickey told The Times.
The 59-year-old peer was due to retire as chief executive of BP in July. He had been with the company since 1966.
It is estimated that he will lose around £15m in salary and bonuses as a result of his resignation.
He could also lose his non-executive roles on the boards of investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Apax.
In a statement Lord Browne, who was made a life peer by Tony Blair in 2001, said he regretted lying to the court and was embarrassed about how he actually met Mr Chevalier.
“For the past 41 years of my career at BP I have kept my private life separate from my business life,” he said.
“I have always regarded my sexuality as a personal matter, to be kept private.
“It is a matter of personal disappointment that a newspaper group has now decided that allegations about my personal life should be made public.”
Mr Chevalier told The Times: “This is not about money. I am somewhat more principled than that.”
