The US Coast Guard has told British oil company BP to come up with more effective measures in the next two days to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
A Coast Guard commander told BP its plans to contain the spill do not go far enough after new figures suggested more oil might be leaking than previously estimated.
Yesterday, in a phone conversation, US president Barack Obama told British Prime Minister David Cameron that his criticisms of BP were not anti-British, and he had no interest in undermining the company's value.
Senior business figures in London, as well as the city’s mayor Boris Johnson, had urged Mr Cameron to come to the defence of BP, amid fears that Mr Obama's comments were driving down its share price and putting British pensions at risk.
Downing Street described the conversation as ‘warm and constructive’ and said that Mr Cameron had stressed the importance of BP to the economy not only of the UK but also the US and other countries.
