White House demands BP set aside billions

THE White House and at least two Gulf states have demanded that BP create special accounts that would set aside billions of dollars to pay for the mounting claims related to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

President Barack Obama wants an independent, third party to administer the escrow account and compensate those with “legitimate” claims for damages, Obama’s top political adviser, David Axelrod, said yesterday.

The amount of money set aside will be discussed during talks this week between the White House and BP, but Axelrod said it should be “substantial.”