Conference ... Cameron and Obama
Graffiti gift for Obama
THE work of a well-known street artist could end up hanging in the White House after one of his paintings was included among the official gifts to Barack Obama from David Cameron on his first trip to Washington as Prime Minister.
Ben Eine - best known for painting graffiti-style letters on shop shutters in London's East End and one of Samantha Cameron's favourite artists - donated the piece titled Twenty First Century City so the Prime Minister and his wife could give it to the US President.
The 39-year-old former graffiti tearaway recently sprayed the entire alphabet on shop shutters in a dreary London street.
For the last four years his colourful pieces have popped up around the capital and he has been asked to decorate shutters in cities as far afield as Tokyo and New York.
With Washington being drenched by occasional torrential downpours, the first family's young daughters may also appreciate their offerings from the UK - two pairs of Hunter Wellington boots, one in pink and one in purple.
For Michelle Obama, there were candles made by London-based perfumer Miller Harris.
The President stuck to the art theme with his gift - a signed lithograph by well-known pop artist Ed Ruscha chosen for its red, white and blue colours matching the two countries' flags.
DAVID Cameron insisted tonight that BP should not be blamed for the "completely wrong" decision to release the Lockerbie bomber.
Speaking at a White House press conference alongside Barack Obama, the Prime Minister said the Scottish Government was responsible for freeing Abdelbaset al-Megrahi.He also warned the US against excessive punishment of BP over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill - insisting it was in no one's interests to undermine the firm's future.
The comments came as both leaders tried to defuse renewed tensions over the row, amid claims that BP lobbied for Megrahi's release as part of an oil deal with Libya.
Mr Cameron said he had seen no evidence that the Scottish Government had been "swayed" by lobbying from BP, but the company would have to explain any representations it had made.
He said he and President Obama had been in "violent agreement" that freeing the terminally-ill bomber on compassionate grounds last August had been wrong.
"Releasing the Lockerbie bomber, a mass murderer, was completely wrong,'' Mr Cameron said. "He showed his victims no compassion. They were not allowed to die in their beds at home."
But he added: "That was not a decision taken by BP, it was a decision taken by the Scottish Government."
Mr Cameron said BP was in no doubt about its obligations in relation to the spill.
"It is BP's role to cap the leak, to clean up the mess, and to pay appropriate compensation," he said.
"Equally, BP is an important company to both the British and American economies. Thousands of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic depend on it.
"So it is in the interests of both our countries, as we agreed, that it remains a strong and stable company in the future.
"Let's not confuse the oil spill with the Lockerbie bomber."
Mr Cameron said he did not believe an inquiry was needed into the release of Megrahi, but he re-stated his promise to disclose any Government documents that shed light on negotiations with Libya.
President Obama also seemed keen to play down the renewed row, telling the press conference: "I think all of us were surprised, disappointed and angry about the release of al-Megrahi.
"We welcome any additional information that will give us insight into how the decision was made."
He added: "The key thing here is we have got a British Prime Minister here who shares our anger, and also objects to how it played out.
"The bottom line is that we all disagreed with it. It was a bad decision."
Emerging to face the media after several hours of talks, the two men were keen to emphasise the strength of the "special relationship" between the US and UK.
They also joked about their families, with Mr Cameron saying he had seen the Obama children's bedrooms during a tour of the house and was impressed how tidy they were.
He said he would be trying to encourage the same good habits in his own offspring.
MR Obama has been invited to make a state visit to the UK, it was disclosed today.
Mr Cameron extended the offer to host the US first family, on behalf of the Queen, during talks at the White House.
Mr Obama's first visit to the UK as US president came in March and April last year as world leaders gathered for the G20 summit.
He was joined by first lady Michelle, who made headlines after taking the unusual step of putting her arm round the Queen in an affectionate embrace during a reception at Buckingham Palace.
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