BP facing action by US government over Gulf spill

The American government has pledged to continue its legal battle with BP over the Deepwater Horizon disaster despite the company reaching a $7.8 billion (£4.9bn) deal to compensate businesses and individuals.

An out-of-court settlement will see the oil giant pay up to meet 110,000 private claims, including those from fishermen who lost work and people who said their health suffered following the oil spill. But the US Department of Justice said the settlement does not compensate for “significant damages” or BP’s “violation of the law”.

It is bringing a federal negligence case against BP following the explosion in April 2010, which killed 11 workers and saw millions of barrels of oil leak into the Gulf of Mexico.

If BP is found grossly negligent it could be fined as much as $18bn under the US Clean Water Act.

The Department of Justice said: “While we are pleased that BP may be stepping up to address harms to individual plaintiffs, this by no means fully addresses its responsibility for the harms it has caused.”