this, except I hope they end up bankrupted sooner, rather than later.

The chief executive of BP has told Sky News he believes the massive Gulf of Mexico oil spill will end up having only a "very, very modest" environmental impact.

Experts had feared the Deepwater Horizon disaster could have led to one of the worst environmental catastrophes in US history.

But the British oil giant has risked outrage along the Gulf Coast by predicting a far smaller impact.

Dr Tony Hayward said: "I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to have been very, very modest.

"It is impossible to say and we will mount, as part of the aftermath, a very detailed environmental assessment but everything we can see at the moment suggests that the overall environmental impact will be very, very modest."