Lord Browne of Madingley quit today as a board member of Goldman Sachs, days after he had to resign as BP chief executive after being found to have lied to the High Court about his private life.

There had been mounting speculation about whether Goldman would allow him to stay on the board, where he was chairman of the audit committee, given the ruling of the High Court judge who was damning about Lord Browne's credibility.

Goldman has always been highly protective of its squeaky-clean reputation and had declined to back him publicly over the finding that he lied to the court over how he met Jeff Chevalier, his Canadian former boyfriend.

It is believed that lawyers representing the investment bank had raised concerns about Lord Browne's continued role there.

In contrast the private equity firm Apax, on whose board Lord Browne also sits, has been supportive.

Martin Halusa, the Apax chief executive, came out in Lord Browne's support last week.

He said: "Lord Browne is a man of enormous talent and we look forward to working with him.'"

Today Goldman issued a lengthy tribute to Lord Browne, who has been on the board since its flotation in May 1999, but gave no reason for his resignation.

Lloyd Blankfein, the chairman and chief executive, said: "Lord Browne has made an enormous contribution to Goldman Sachs and our culture of teamwork, excellence and client service. He has approached every issue with extraordinary business acumen and an absolute commitment to the firm's success."

Last week a group of more than 60 business leaders, representatives from the arts and politicians signed an open letter saying that they stood by Lord Browne.

The signatories include Crispin Davis, the chief executive of Reed Elsevier, Tom Glocer, the chief executive of Reuters, and Lord Patten of Barnes, the former Tory politician who is the Chancellor of Oxford University.

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