Looney’s ex-wife sends her Christmas message

ONE person chirpily embracing the season of goodwill is the ex-wife of disgraced former BP boss Bernard Looney.

Self-help guru Jacqueline Hurst, who divorced Looney in 2019, encouraged her Instagram followers to avoid feuds with loved ones over the Christmas period.

‘Life is really short and forgiveness gives way to freedom,’ she said on Instagram last week, looking as glamorous as ever.

Hurst has previously described the ‘devastating’ pain of Looney ending

SAINSBURY’S boss Simon Roberts sent an ‘e-Christmas card’ to contacts in the firm’s address book, thanking them for their ‘partnership and support’ over the year. But a technical glitch meant some recipients were sent garbled text and symbols more akin to an alien language than English. A replacement email – this time with a legible attachment – was sent out the following day. Maybe stick to real cards next time, Simon? their marriage ‘suddenly and without warning’. But it now seems she may have had the last laugh.

Looney quit BP in September after admitting that he misled the board over a series of relationships with colleagues. Earlier this month BP denied him £32million in pay and shares following ‘serious misconduct’.

As her ex’s career collapsed, Hurst said: ‘The moral of the story of all things in life – just be a good person and tell the truth.’

CHRISTMAS is understandably a quiet one in the Square Mile, with traders and executives usually too busy digesting turkey and mulled wine to make major announcements.

But a handful of companies have decided it is the perfect time to hold their annual general meeting.

Those in the diary next week include ad tech firm Tremor, stock market data group ADVFN, and SkinBioTherapeutics.

Christmas also tends to be a time when firms sneak out bad news, aware that many people are too distracted by the festivities to notice. This column, however, remains alert all year round. Firms, you have been warned.