Lord Browne of Madingley, the scandal-hit former chief executive of oil company BP, has stepped down as chairman of buyout house Apax Partners to join a private equity firm specialising in the energy sector.

Browne has been on Apax's board since 1999 and non-executive chairman for almost a year. In the role, Browne oversaw Apax's five different divisions. The private equity firm today said it would not name a replacement to Browne since each of its divisions had separate advisory boards and a chairman.