Cameron tries to appease U.S. anger at BP

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron attend a joint press conference after their meeting at the East Room of the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, July 20, 2010. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)

David Cameron, in his first official visit to Washington as British prime minister, on Tuesday tried to appease massive rage in the United States at the BP company, which was blamed for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster and its alleged role in the release of the Lockerbie bomber last August.

"BP is an important company to both the British and the American economies. Thousands of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic depend on it. So it's in the interest of both our countries, as we agreed, that it remains a strong and stable company for the future," said Cameron at a joint news conference with President Barack Obama in the White House.

The prime minister told reporters that he "absolutely" understood American's anger at BP following the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster, which is believed to be the largest offshore spill in U. S. history resulting in a catastrophe for the environment, and for the fishing and tourism industry.

Cameron also said that he had asked for a review of government documents on the release of the Lockerbie bomber in order to see if more needs to be published, but said the decision on the release was made by the Scottish authorities, not BP.

He also said he does not want a British inquiry.

The Obama administration has asked the British government to review the decision to release Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who served eight years of a life sentence for the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am Flight over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The bombing left 270 people dead, most of them Americans.

BP has admitted lobbying the British government to sign a prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, which in fact paved the way for the oil giant to get profitable contracts from Libya.


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