London ? BP PLC’s Chief Executive John Browne resigned Tuesday, hours after a judge allowed a newspaper to publish allegations from a former boyfriend that the executive misused company resources.

Browne, who had already moved up his departure by more than a year after a deadly refinery blast in Texas and a giant oil spill in Alaska, denied any improper conduct relating to BP. But he acknowledged that he had lied to a judge about how he met his former partner, with whom he had a four-year relationship.

The Mail on Sunday, the newspaper that had sought to publish the claims, immediately called for Browne to be prosecuted for perjury.

Browne said he regretted the lie, saying he was in shock at his private life being exposed, and was stepping down voluntarily “to avoid unnecessary embarrassment and distraction to the company.”

Browne was accused of using BP computers and staff to help his former partner, of using support staff to set up and then wind down a company Browne created for him to run, and sending a senior BP employee on a personal errand to deliver cash to him.

Browne’s designated successor, exploration and production head Tony Hayward, will take over as CEO immediately, the company said.