The ousted chairman of BP has issued another fierce statement in response to his removal from the board, hitting back at 'lies' told by colleagues. 

Albert Manifold was abruptly sacked from the oil giant's board on Tuesday after just six months in the job due to what BP said were 'serious concerns' over his conduct.

It later emerged that this included 'bullying' and 'overbearing behaviour, which yesterday he said was a 'false narrative'.

In a strongly worded statement this morning, Manifold said he accepted the board's decision but added: 'What I do not accept is that lies can be told about me, nor that anyone should be allowed to hide behind anonymity when commenting on my time at BP.'

It is understood that concerns related to Manifold's alleged 'aggressive' behaviour towards junior and senior staff, which was judged to be inappropriate.

The chairman was also said to have been 'shouty' and to have spoken down to senior staff on several occasions, the FT reported.

The 63-year-old acknowledged that he had 'pushed hard'. 

'Is it possible that in my determination to drive change on costs, performance, the balance sheet and shareholder communications, I pushed hard and challenged people directly? Yes, it is,' he said. 

'But there is a considerable distance between driving an organisation with urgency and the characterisation of my conduct that is now being put about.'

The former boss of Irish building materials company, CRH, this morning also disputed 'nonsense' claims that he wished to take on an executive chairman role at BP.

'I know well the time commitment and effort it takes to be a senior executive in a public company, and one certainly cannot fulfil those executive duties by being in the office for 13 days in a five-month period,' he said.

Manifold was appointed as chairman last October in another overhaul of BP's top team, as it shifted its focus from renewables to fossil fuels to boost profits and its share price.

Today, the 63-year-old said he found a company that 'lacked strategic cohesion and direction… [and] lacked clarity on messaging, urgency of delivery, and I believe those issues could have impacted shareholders' interests.'

He said that he sought to 'accelerate cost reduction' and eschewed a chauffeur and private jet to 'set an example'. He also referred to BP's plans to lay off 'thousands of people', which has not previously been reported.  

Manifold said that at no point during his time at BP did anyone raise concerns about his behaviour. 

He added: 'Indeed, in my 40-year working career, I have never once had accusations made against me such as those made in recent days. I dispute entirely this characterisation of my conduct.' 

Yesterday it emerged that Manifold had hired City law firm Mishcon de Reya to act for him should his exit descend into a legal battle.

A spokesperson for BP said: 'We note the comments of our former chair. We stand by the statement we have made. We have a duty of care to all our employees, particularly those impacted by his behavior.'