BP oil spill: David Cameron caught between Tory right and Obama

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The government moved to quell suggestions of indifference to the BP oil disaster today when both David Cameron and the chancellor, George Osborne, spoke to BP's chairman, Carl-Henric Svanberg, urging all sides to find a constructive solution to the environmental crisis.

Cameron and Osborne are involved in a delicate balancing act, facing calls to stand up to Barack Obama's criticisms of BP and the anti-British sentiment on which the US president seems to be trading. At the same time, Cameron cannot afford to wreck the so-called special relationship by being seen to attack Obama on an issue that is causing the president political trouble.

After meeting the BP chairman in Downing Street, Osborne said: "We are all concerned about the human and environmental impact and as the prime minister has said, we understand the concerns of the US administration.

"The prime minister is also clear that we need constructive solutions and that we remember the economic value BP brings to people in Britain and America."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/11/bp-oil-spill-cameron-obama