Bonking Boeing boss sacked

Boeing has sacked its 68-year-old boss for having an affair with a colleague.

The US aerospace giant told chief executive Harry Stonecipher he had to go following the discovery of an "inappropriate personal relationship" with a woman executive.

The affair came to light after an anonymous tip-off.

The scandal has stunned the world's aviation and defence industries and is a shattering blow to one of America's biggest corporations which has an annual turnover of £27billion and employs 150,000 people. In a statement this afternoon, Boeing said its board had "asked for and received" Mr Stonecipher's resignation from his £1.1 million-a-year post.

The woman, who has not been identified, is described as a "female executive of the company who did not report directly to him".

Boeing chairman Lew Platt said: "The board concluded that the facts reflected poorly on Harry's judgment and would impair his ability to lead the company." His actions were "inconsistent with Boeing's code of conduct".

Mr Stonecipher was brought out of retirement 15 months ago to clean up Boeing after a string of scandals had led to the departures of the previous chief executive and finance director.

He said then he had found evidence of profligacy at the company running to tens of millions of dollars. "Some people did not know the difference between a meeting and a party," he said. The company's name was tarnished in 2003 over allegations of dodgy practices in attempting to win major Pentagon contracts.

Mr Stonecipher had been credited with a more aggressive marketing approach that had seen a revival in orders at the Chicago-based company. Mr Stonecipher, a legend in the US defence industry, is married and a grandfather. His predecessor, Phil Condit, was known for enjoying the high life, flying the world in a customised Boeing 737 complete with wall-to-wall pile carpeting.