BP’s ousted chair has hit back at the group’s decision to fire him over governance issues, launching a robust defence of his short-lived tenure on the supermajor’s board and rejecting the “false narrative” surrounding his sudden departure. In a move poised to plunge the London-listed energy giant into a full-blown governance crisis, Albert Manifold defended his record as chair, and said he drove “genuine change at BP – cutting costs, challenging excess and holding the organisation to higher standards”.…