Obama 'will make BP pay'

US president Barack Obama has said BP will take responsibility for the damage it has caused as a result of the oil spill two months ago.

In a key speech at his Oval address last night (June 15th), Mr Obama voiced his concern over the effects of the spill on the environment and said the US government will make BP do whatever it takes to amend the damage.

He said: "We will make BP pay ... We will fight this spill with everything we've got for as long as it takes."

Mr Obama added that the US had to stop its "addiction" to fossil fuels and called on the Senate to pass an energy bill.

Since a rig BP was operating on exploded on April 20th in the Gulf of Mexcio, the oil giant has spent $1.6 billion (£1.08 billion) to contain the spill.

BP reported that to date, 475,000 barrels (19.9 million gallons) of oil had been collected from the water.

Posted by Claire Manning