The White House on Sunday slammed BP chief Tony Hayward’s attendance at a yachting race as an ill-timed “big mistake,” with the livelihoods of Gulf of Mexico residents still threatened by a massive oil spill.
White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was scathing in his criticism of Mr Hayward, who was photographed on Saturday watching a yacht race off the Isle of Wight one day after being removed from day-to-day responsibility for the disaster.
“Well, to quote Tony Hayward, he has got his life back, he would say,” Mr Emanuel said in an interview with ABC’s This Week.
“I think we can all conclude that Tony Hayward is not going to have a second career in PR consulting,” he said.
“Now this is a mistake and it’s a big mistake, like others he has done in the sense when he said himself, he has got his life back.”
Mr Emanuel added: “What’s more important is, do the people down there in that area have their life back? Do they have their livelihood back?”
Mr Hayward attended the boat race in his native Britain a day after BP announced he was handing over daily control of the energy giant’s spill response to managing director Bob Dudley, an American.
BP raced to defend Mr Hayward’s vacation outing with his son in Britain. “Still, no matter where he is, he is always in touch with what is happening within BP,” company spokesman John Curry said. Another spokesman Robert Wine noted this was Mr Hayward’s “first non-working day since this (spill) started.”
Earlier this week, US legislators skewered Mr Hayward for failing to answer questions about the origins of the massive oil gusher that has spoiled once-pristine beaches and shorelines, killed wildlife and put a big dent in the Gulf Coast’s multi-billion-dollar fishing industry. Environmental campaigners in Britain sharply criticised Mr Hayward’s decision to attend the race.