Friday 11 June 2010

BP, the UK Government and Megrahi

[The following is an excerpt from an article in today's edition of The Guardian:]

Lord Jones, a government trade ambassador and former trade minister, has accused David Cameron of failing to stand up for Britain after the prime minister said he understood the US government's frustration over the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster.

BP's shares tumbled almost 7% to a 13-year low on fears that the US department of justice could block the company's dividend due next month.

Speaking to the Guardian, Jones said Cameron should have been more forthright in defending British interests, particularly pension funds, since BP's dividend traditionally makes up more than a 10th of all payouts by UK companies.

"This is not about trying to come to BP's defence but for the US to understand there are more people to blame," he said. "Pension fund beneficiaries will be saying 'Are you standing up for us Mr Cameron?' It's not 'We are hoping for a favour for BP' but '[Are you] standing up for Britain?'" (...)

BP has traditionally had a close relationship with the government. Last year it emerged that ministers had supported the release of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, following lobbying by BP which was concerned a £500m oil deal with the Libyan government was at risk.

Cameron's refusal to defend BP contrasts with calls from British business leaders and London's mayor Boris Johnson for the White House to tone down its attacks. Johnson accused President Obama's government of "anti-British rhetoric", warning that the near 50% slump in BP's share price since the spill was bad news for UK pensioners.

4 comments:

  1. Hmmm... curious how well that spill did feed into an existing tend - threats of an end to the "special relationship." From Obama's earlier removal of a bust of Churchill from the White House, to the megrahi release fallout, Conservatives issuing warnings, and then this unprecedented disaster coming from BP ...

    Beyond portentous.

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  2. That lot can complain about BP the day they clean up Bhopal and compensate everyone who was injured there.

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  3. MISSION LOCKERBIE:

    Der dokumentar Film "Lockerbie revisited" (von Regisseur Gideon Levy), welcher den "Scottish members of Parliament about important facts concerning the conspiracy against Libyas shows", zeigt dass wir die "Truth-Finder" Recht haben...

    Unsere Beweiskette ist nicht eine Chaos-Theorie, sondern wird von der Umwelt als eine von vielen Verschwörungs-Theorien verstanden und ist somit verdrängbar. "Gewisse" Personen und "spezielle" Organe wie die Scottish Justiciary und die UN etc. wollen heute die Wahrheit gar nicht wissen ! Träumt süss und Haupsache ist, dass die "Betroffenen" ein gutes Leben führen können...
    Lockerbie und seine Bewältigung war und ist eine Riesen-Schweinerei. Aber es gibt noch andere und *kommende Beispiele, die noch viel schlimmer sind, bezugsweise werden...

    Der ungesühnte Tod und die Trauer über die Lockerbie Tragödie mit seinen 270 Opfer, überlässt man den Familien der Opfer...
    Einige Offizielle und der grösste Teil der Menschheit versucht die Tragödie als Angelegenheit a dacta zulegen damit die "Karawane" mit "Tod Sichel" für weitere Tragödien weiterziehen kann.
    Die nachste *Tragödie mit einer viel grösseren Symbolik als "Lockerbie", wird der Welt durch den englischen "BP oil spill" am Gulf of Mexico vorgeführt...

    NB: Zufall oder Fluch? Der vorsätzliche "Mammut Oil Deal" zwischen BP und Libyen war massgebend daran beteiligt, damit das *erfolgversprechende "Lockerbie-Appeal" 4 Wochen vor dem Gerichtstermin von Mr. Megrahi zurückgezogen werden musste, damit der "Lockerbie-Affaire" ein vorläufiges Ende auferlegt werden konnte.
    *(erwartetes Urteil Miscarriage of Justice in 6 Punkten)

    We continue working, the truth may not least die...

    by Edwin and Mahnaz Bollier, MEBO Ltd., Switzerland
    URL: www.lockerbie.ch

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  4. Anonymous05 July, 2010

    Of course the U.S. (my home country) is a supporter of terrorism along with England. America is fighting a war and paying the terrorist to keep doing terrorism so that they can control mineral mines in the Mid East and Oil fields so this does not surprise me.

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