Cable hits out at Obama administration over BP oil spill disaster

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-America.html

Vince Cable has hit out at the 'extreme and unhelpful' anti-British rhetoric from the U.S. over BP's handling of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The Business Secretary stopped short of criticising President Barack Obama personally, and declared that Britain should not use ' gunboat diplomacy'. Some MPs, however, have said Mr Obama was wrong to blame Britain for the problem. The comments, which came yesterday as BP announced that a plan to funnel the oil away had partially worked, risked provoking a trans-Atlantic rift. American politicians and broadcasters have laid the blame for the accident on the Deepwater Horizon rig at the feet of the UK - despite BP being a multinational company. Mr Obama has continually referred to the company as 'British Petroleum' although it changed its name to BP more than a decade ago.

Mr Cable said yesterday: 'It's clear that some of the rhetoric in the U.S. is extreme and unhelpful.' He added that the fury being levelled at the company was 'a reaction to big oil'. Mr Cable cautioned against the Government resorting to 'gunboat diplomacy' by aggressively lobbying the White House on the oil company's behalf. He said Mr Obama was treating BP no more harshly than he would a U.S. company such as Exxon - the previous holder of the dubious record for the biggest oil leak in American history. But other MPs voiced their concern about the hostile tone of the U.S. Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said: 'It is not the British government or the British people who are to blame. It's a multinational company and it is up to them to fix this.'

BP's gaffe-prone chief executive, Tony Hayward, risked exacerbating the divide by saying that he was not damaged by the crisis because of his British 'stiff upper lip'. 'No one has actually physically harmed me,' he said. 'They've thrown some words at me. 'But I'm a Brit, so sticks and stones can hurt your bones but words never break them, or whatever the expression is.' Mr Hayward also indicated the company would not be pressured into scrapping its dividend, which represents £1 in every £7 paid out in dividends in the UK.

The oil giant has faced calls from U.S. politicians to cancel an estimated £6.8billion in payouts due to shareholders. Last night Mr Obama criticised BP for failing to halt divided payments. He accused the company of 'nickel and diming' Gulf coast residents while preparing to spend billions on dividends - the American phrase is used to describe someone who pays the minimum to someone. He said the company's priority should be those residents worst affected by the spill. Mr Obama castigated BP as he made his third trip to Louisiana to check on progress being made to contain the massive oil spill.

It also emerged that oil had finally reached the coast of Florida, at Pensacola beach. Pressure groups have urged the Obama administration to seize BP's assets and divide them among those affected by the disaster. The company has lost £42billion in value since the start of the crisis. BP's containment cap over the stricken Gulf of Mexico well is collecting about 1,000 barrels per day. This is just a fraction of the 19,000 barrels a day the U.S. government has estimated is still gushing from the well, but a BP executive said that as the collection rate increases, it could clean up '90-plus per cent' of the oil.

Its about time somebody stood upto Obama who has no anglo-american concept and has shown it numerous times in the way hes snubbed the United Kingdom despite the fact that this is a private company (who didnt even cause the oil leak) and the other factor being we are the only country who has stood with the United States and continues to do so in Afghanistan in larger numbers than any other country (whether we agree with the conflicts or not). I'm glad Cable has stood upto Obama and the US administration though.

Thoughts?

[Jordy]

Yeah I'm glad to see a cabinet member has spoke out about this, been reading the blogs this morning and many UK politicians are upset by Obamas claims and rightly so.

Obama is useless, he's using the British as a scapegoat and just trying to say the right things to please his people although from I hear people in the US are getting quite annoyed by his poor handling of the crisis. The federal government has not helped BP what-so-ever and it's totally within their interests to protect the company and most importantly their coasts and people. BP are struggling it is clear to see and are doing all they can yet the Obama administration isn't helping, it's just complaining. Let's hope it becomes Obama's "Katrina".

[MrPinkPanther]

I agree, I feel that the US believe they can do what they want and the United Kingdom will blindly agree like we always have. I also think that politicians are scared to criticise Obama because he has such a golden image, he's a good leader sure but he isn't perfect. I'm just glad it was a Liberal Democrat that finally manned up enough to criticise him.

[HotelUser]

They're a company responsible for a massive spill which is hurting the American economy. He is within his every right to insult the company.

[FlyingJesus]

They're a company responsible for a massive spill which is hurting the American economy. He is within his every right to insult the company.

Point is he isn't just insulting the company, he's wording it to make it appear a British problem and not a private industrial one

[HotelUser]

Point is he isn't just insulting the company, he's wording it to make it appear a British problem and not a private industrial one

He's talking about seizing the companies assets and such. He's hardly causing any political damage to England?

Also America gets more stick from you guys for multinational corporations that originated from there, like Apple and Microsoft!

[-:Undertaker:-]

He's talking about seizing the companies assets and such. He's hardly causing any political damage to England?

Also America gets more stick from you guys for multinational corporations that originated from there, like Apple and Microsoft!

BP did not cause the spill, it was an American company that did the drilling as far as I am aware.

[HotelUser]

BP did not cause the spill, it was an American company that did the drilling as far as I am aware.

Then he just picked a random oil company with no relation to the spill and decided to bully it?

[xxMATTGxx]

BP did not cause the spill, it was an American company that did the drilling as far as I am aware.

I thought that company was linked with BP anyway? I believe BP maintain the rig or something. I forgot what was said.

[FlyingJesus]

Again, the point is not what company is involved, but the fact that Obama and his office keep referring to it as British Petroleum despite that not even being the (multinational) company name, which indirectly shifts the blame from the US to the UK.