BP oil spill: David Cameron backs Barack Obama's hardline stance

The oil firm has seen almost £50 billion wiped off its value since oil began leaking from one of its pipelines following an explosion on a gas platform in the Gulf of Mexico. Investors say the hardline approach taken by Mr Obama – who has promised to "kick ass" over the incident – has contributed to the share price declines.

The pension funds of millions of Britons have been hard hit – as exposure to BP, Britain's biggest company, is high. Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, this morning became the most senior UK politician to defend BP, saying "anti-British rhetoric" levelled at the company was a matter of "national concern" and that the oil giant was paying "a very, very heavy price" for what had been an accident. "I would like to see a bit of cool heads rather than endlessly buck-passing and name-calling," he said. "When you consider the huge exposure of British pension funds to BP it starts to become a matter of national concern if a great British company is being continually beaten up on the airwaves."

Speaking to reporters in Afghanistan, Mr Cameron refused to follow suit, instead offering his backing to Washington. He said: "I completely understand the US government's frustration because it's catastrophic for the environment. "The most important thing is to mitigate the effects and get to the root of the problem.
"Of course it's something I'll discuss with the American president when we next speak." BP says the cost of the clean-up and containment efforts had now hit US$1.43 billion (£979 million). The firm's dividend payments, which amount to more than £7 billion a year, account for £1 in every £6 paid out in dividends to British pension pots.


Opinion

Now the pension funds of the Britons is hard hit and the cost o the clean-up containment efforts is about 979 million pounds, both sides should take action to solve the problem. Besides no one is speaking about the damage of the oil caused to nature. Will this problem be ever solved, it has passed 50 days already.


Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/energy/oilandgas/7817582/BP-oil-spill-David-Cameron-backs-Barack-Obamas-hardline-stance.html