BP shares plunged by £7BILLION yesterday as Barack Obama compared the US oil spill to 9/11.
He said the Gulf of Mexico disaster echoed the 2001 atrocity, which killed 3,000 people.The US President called for a move to cleaner energy, saying 9/11 dominated political policy and the BP leak would frame environmental policy for years.
Mr Obama said: "We consume more than 20 per cent of the world's oil, but have less than two percent of the world's oil reserves.
"Our continued dependence on fossil fuels will jeopardise our national security. And it will put our economy and our environment at risk."
Shares in BP plunged nearly TEN PER CENT as it came under intense pressure to scrap a £7billion shareholder dividend critical to the income of UK pension funds. Around £1 in every £7 that pension funds pocket from company dividends per year comes from BP.
The White House stepped up calls for BP to create a compensation fund for Americans suffering due to the oil pouring from the ruptured pipe in the Gulf.
US politicians want the firm to set aside up to £14billion - a year's profits.
BP's share price has fallen 45.5 per cent since the April 20 rig explosion. Mr Obama will give a TV address from the White House's Oval Office - the first time he has used the solemn venue - tonight after his fourth visit to the Gulf region.
He will meet BP's chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg and chief exec Tony Hayward. The bosses then face a grilling from a US Congressional committee on live TV.
US lawyers believe top BP chiefs could be jailed.
Two US politicians claimed risky shortcuts sparked the disaster. Democrats Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak wrote to Mr Hayward: "Time after time, it appears BP made decisions that increased the risk of a blowout to save time or expense."
A BP engineer warned before the blowout that cost cuts made the rig a "nightmare well".
BP is collecting 15,000 barrels a day from the damaged well - but at least 25,000 barrels are still spewing into the ocean.
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