BP protests at halls of Tate Modern

LONDON, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- A British art collective said it was calling on oil company BP to come clean about the corporate culture that led to the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

More than 100 members of advocacy group Liberate Tate descended on the galleries of the Tate Modern in London to rally in response to a court ruling BP was "grossly negligent" in the events that led up to the 2010 spill.

Advocate Yasmin De Silva said BP needs to be more responsive to the issue.

"There's an important debate taking place about whether we let oil companies get away with pretending to be good corporate citizens by sponsoring cultural institutions," she said in a statement Sunday.

BP is a prime sponsor of the Tate Modern. Liberate Tate activists said they were frustrated with the lack of transparency in the gallery's relationship with BP.

A decision reached last week in a Louisiana court found BP may be liable for as much as $18 billion, nearly four times as much as the maximum for violating the federal Clean Water Act.

BP in a statement said the record "does not support the erroneous conclusion" reached by the court.