The former boss of Lloyd’s of London broke contact rules, the firm says.

Lloyd’s of London’s former boss’ close relationship with another director breached compliance rules, the insurance market said after an internal investigation.

The relationship between former CEO John Neal and former director of corporate affairs Rebecca Clement “was sufficiently close … to be considered a perceived conflict of interest,” the firm said.

Lloyds said the couple breached compliance rules by not disclosing their relationship, but found no concrete evidence that they were romantically involved while at Lloyds.

Neal told the Financial Times that all parties can now move on. Clement’s attorney said she is considering legal action.

“Rebecca is deeply disturbed by Lloyd’s actions during this investigation, the nature and length of which caused her unnecessary distress and significant reputational damage in light of the ‘findings,'” Clement’s attorney added.

“Not surprisingly, Lloyd found no evidence of an inappropriate relationship with John Neal and no evidence of any failures in her promotion. She also cooperated with the entire investigation.”

“However, Lloyd still chose to look for Rebecca, under the pretext of ‘intelligence’, the source of which was rumours, rumors and insults.”

The BBC has contacted Neal for comment. He He told the Financial Times:, External “I’m very happy, but I’m not surprised that the investigation showed that there was no connection.

“I hope I would have spent more time and resources trying to reach a conclusion on a central question that was not really in doubt.

“I was disappointed by the other findings and did not accept them.”

Lloyd’s Wednesday As early as November 2023, it said it had received “certain false reports” but had not acted on them.

Chairman Sir Charles Roxburgh deemed this a failure of governance and reported the matter to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in October 2025.

Lloyds said it could not share the nature of the allegations or the identities of the people involved.

In the year In November 2025, Lloyd’s Sir Charles said he had discovered “new information relating to an alleged personal relationship” between Neal and Clement and had “immediately launched an extensive investigation into the matter”.

The investigation has been hampered by the fact that Lloyd Neal and Clement have both left the company and refused to answer questions, but Lloyd said he interviewed about 40 witnesses in the investigation.

He added that he had been keeping the FCA informed throughout the process.

Sir Charles said on Wednesday: “Based on the findings of this investigation, we have come to the conclusion that the former chief executive’s conduct fell below the standard expected of him.”

The investigation added, “There were serious failures in management standards and processes, most concerning the handling of false reports. These were serious failures that should never have been allowed.”

Lloyd’s history as a city institution spans more than 300 years and was first recorded in 1688.