BP's Hayward under fire for 2010 spill

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) -- Former BP Chief Executive Officer Tony Hayward, is offering misleading accounts of what triggered the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, lawyers said.

Hayward was the public face of the 2010 disaster that resulted in 11 rig-worker deaths and led to one of the worst oil spills in history.

BP in a 4-month investigation into the accident said its engineers, contractor Halliburton and rig operator Transocean, share the blame for the "complex and interlinked" events that led to the accident.

U.S. investigators examining the site of the spill suggested a faulty cementing procedure led in part to the failure of BP's Macondo well on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico.

Lawyers for plaintiffs suing the British oil company for damages related to the spill accused Hayward of having "a unique view of the truth" regarding events spelled out in the company's internal review, The Daily Telegraph newspaper in London reports.

His lawyers countered the questions were "posed in bad faith" or otherwise "unreasonably annoying." Hayward offered public comment.

Hayward left BP after a corporate reshuffling in late 2010 moved Bob Dudley into the top position of the company.