BP bosses braced for White House grilling

BP bosses face a mauling at crunch talks today after US President Barack Obama vowed to make the British oil giant pay for the Gulf of Mexico spill.

Mr Obama used his first televised address from the Oval Office to accuse the company of recklessness and said he would order it to set up a fund to compensate victims and help the region's economy recover from America's worst ever environmental disaster.

The president was speaking ahead of a crucial meeting with BP chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg and other top BP executives at the White House later.

It comes after a ratings agency slashed the beleaguered firm's debt to near-junk status on Tuesday after scientists said far more oil was spewing into the Gulf than previously thought and US politicians called on BP to place up to $20 billion into a special account to deal with damage claims.

Fitch's second downgrade for BP in less than two weeks leaves the blue-chip stock rated at BBB, the agency's lowest investment grade.

Fitch said the company's estimate of clean-up and claims had soared to up to $6 billion, while fines could be as high as $8 billion.