Sue Lawley's castaway this week is the chief executive of BP, John Browne. His father had also worked for the company and through visits to Iran as a boy, he witnessed spectacular oil-well blow-outs which gave him a fascination for the business. He joined BP after leaving university, starting at the sharp end as a petroleum engineer in Alaska in the 1970s. For 20 years, he travelled the world, working his way up the ladder before permanently settling in London.

Almost 10 years ago, he said that oil companies must take seriously the threat of global warming and take measures to tackle the issue. He was knighted in 1998, and created a life peer in 2001 as Lord Browne of Madingley.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: An extract from the end of Act 1 of Cosi Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Book: Other Men's Flowers: An Anthology of Poetry by Lord Wavell
Luxury: A lifetime's supply of great cigars Show less