BP 'agrees to finance $20bn oil spill fund'

BP has agreed to finance a $20bn (€16bn) fund to pay the claims of people whose jobs and way of life have been damaged by the devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, senior US officials said today.

The independent fund will be led by lawyer Kenneth Feinberg, who oversaw payments to families of victims of the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks, the officials said.