Marc Filippino

Hi, Verity.

So, Verity, do we know why Manifold was removed?

Now, we should mention that Manifold told the FT that BP's decision to remove him came, quote, out of the blue, and that he needed time to reflect before commenting further.

Verity, it's probably important to understand the backdrop here, right?

Because if you look at the broader context, there have been quite a few management shakeups at BP over the past couple of years.

And this isn't even getting into former CEO Bernard Looney's removal a few years back when he failed to disclose the extent of past personal relationships with company employees.

Verity, just out of curiosity, how have shareholders reacted to the news of Manifold's removal?

So Verity, what's next for BP?

Can it turn things around?

What's at the top of their priority list?

Verity Radcliffe is the FT's energy correspondent in the UK.

Thanks, Verity.

The European Central Bank is laying the groundwork for an interest rate rise when it meets in a few weeks.

ECB board member Isabel Schnabel told Reuters yesterday that she can no longer look past the energy shock caused by the Iran war.

Schnabel said, quote, I think a rate hike in June will be needed.

And ECB chief economist Philip Lane told FT owner Nikkei that a scenario where it can ignore energy price increases is becoming, quote, less likely.

Investors are pricing in two quarter-point rate rises this year.

It would bring Eurozone interest rates to 2.5%, the highest level since last March.

Both Lane and Schnabel warned that inflation pressures are higher than the ECB expected when it published its last forecasts this March.

Lane said that the central bank will probably revise its inflation forecast upwards at its next meeting on June 11th.