BP will no longer be responsible for cleaning up oil washed up on the Gulf Coast unless it can be proved to come from the rig disaster, according to a Coast Guard plan.

BP chief executive Tony Hayward today handed over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to an American executive brought up in one of the states affected by the disaster.

Hurricane Wilma weakened slightly as it roared toward Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula and southern Florida today, leaving at least 12 people dead in its wake and forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands in coastal areas from Honduras to the Florida Keys.

Adam Nossiter, New Orleans