You really have to question the judgement of Britain's Liberal Democrat-Conservative coalition with its announcement that former BP chief John Browne, now Lord Browne, will head up a team to oversee Whitehall's ruthless budget cuts.
Browne is best known for introducing the cuts in safety and procedures that gave rise to the Gulf of Mexico disaster. Known as Tony Blair's favourite businessman, his time at the helm of BP was marked by calamities like the 2005 explosion at the company's Texas City oil refinery, which caused 15 deaths and 170 injuries, and a large oil spill in Alaska in 2006, both of which were caused by the company cutting corners and ignoring safety. His 12-year tenure at the head of BP saw the company turn into a global energy giant. But that was only achieved on the back of cost-cutting and outsourcing.
What we are seeing now in the Gulf of Mexico is his legacy, all produced by a company culture obsessed with the cost cutting championed by Browne.
Antipathy towards foreign oil companies is high in the US and journalist-author Tom Bower correctly identifies the appointment as a "July Fourth outrage".
Bower writes: " So far the British, with bizarrely civilized manners, have not damned Browne for his 'vision.' Instead, the government has promoted him to deploy the same skills for Britain as he applied to BP."
no comment untill now