In the case of BP, it's hard to imagine that a company on such thin ice with the American people after devastating our Gulf Coast would not fully cooperate in getting to the bottom of the release of a terrorist who murdered 189 Americans. It is apparently more important to BP and Mr. Hayward to focus on his multi-million-dollar golden parachute than to help answering lingering questions about whether his company advocated trading blood for oil. To me, I will make and take the sickening corporate irresponsibility into account whenever I look at future issues involving BP's US operations.
The Sky's city editor Mark Kleinman is at BP headquarters in central London. Sky's Greg Milam is in Washington. We'll talk more about the political anger in America in just a moment. But Mark, first you, Tony Hayward says he feels vilified a big incident this, but the political pressure in America something else now.
That's right, Lona. Tony Hayward felt demonized and vilified before this evening, then the senator's comments just underlie the fact that changing leadership of BP is not going to remove him from the line of fire. And it was a point that the chairman of BP, Carl-Henric Svanberg, actually made today when he was asked why the board felt the need to replace Mr. Hayward. The fact is that the US is BP's the most important market, and if it cannot have a solid, robust relationship with the American government and the other American authorities, then BP cannot begin to rebuild its future. So that's the prime reason for Mr. Hayward's removal essentially. The other important point is that while Mr. Hayward feels that he has been vilified we have to remember this incident was one in which 11 people lost their lives and one of America's worst environmental disasters has taken place, and ultimately, the bucket has to stopped somewhere. The accounts, the sense of accountability would not have been delivered by BP unless somebody had paid the price with their job, and in this case, it happens to have been Mr. Hayward.
Mark, thank you. Over to Greg in Washington. Tony Hayward leaving his post is clearly not the end of the matter as far as US senators are concerned.
No, there was an extraordinary outburst by Robert Menendez just a short time ago. Not only against Tony Hayward but also apparently calling into question the honesty of the Scottish government and the British government and the former British government by not accepting it appeared what those bodies have told. He is a senator (of) foreign relations committee. He may feel a little sore that he promised answers at that hearing on Thursday and without getting any answers as to who would come and answer the questions if you like, and maybe the climb-down is rather difficult for him to swallow. But we have to remember that David Cameron has said he's seen no evidence that BP's lobbying played any part in the release of the Lockerbie bomber, and the Scottish government has made it clear that that release took place purely on compassionate grounds and the medical grounds that their doctors had told them existed. And Jack Straw of course who was also invited and has also refused to come along to that hearing on Thursday has even raised questions about the legitimacy of one country's legislature conducting an inquiry on another country's business. So all of those factors are playing... |