and sam fleming to you first, how closely is the british public following this story of the spill? and what are they saying about it? >> well, i think for the past few weeks the british public have been watching this disaster with horror and have largely seen this as an environmental disaster in the united states. it has not really-- been seen as a story which has huge direct ramifications for the u.k., however, despite the involvement of b.p.. however i think that situation has changed somewhat in the past few days. now people are really honing in, zoning in on the fact that this is a u.k. company involved in a major catastrophe in the u.s. and they are becoming more acutely aware that there are ramifications both in the u.s. and also in the u.k. because it is a company which has iconic status in the u.k., and is also a company which has huge corporate clout and also economic impact for the u.k.. >> woodruff: well, expand on that. corporate clout, iconic status, help us understand how important b.p. is there. >> well, b.p. has a very long history in the u.k. going back many decade