BP chief heckled by protester at US hearing

BP chief executive Tony Hayward was heckled by a protester as he attempted to apologise for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster today.

The woman – with what appeared to be oil smeared on her face and hands - shouted: “You need to go to jail” as Mr Hayward tried to address a Congressional committee hearing.

He had earlier sat silently as a succession of US politicians lambasted BP for what they alleged to be “astonishing” corporate complacency.

When Mr Hayward eventually read his evidence, he said he was “personally devastated” by the explosion which killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon rig and the resulting oil spill.