US oil regulator ‘gave in to BP’ over rig safety
Firm allowed to drill without devising plan to cope with blow-out
By David Usborne, independent.uk, US Editor — Friday, 7 May 2010
As crude oil continued to pour out of control into the Gulf of Mexico yesterday, questions were being asked over the relationship between BP and regulators in Washington amid allegations that the company was allowed to drill the deepwater well without filing plans for how it would cope with a blow-out like the one now in hand.