BP boss pulls out of conference

BP chief executive Tony Hayward pulled out of a London conference which he was due to speak at Tuesday, with the firm saying he would instead be concentrating on the Gulf of Mexico cleanup operation.

Hayward had been due to speak at the World National Oil Companies Congress in London alongside other leading oil bosses.

But a BP spokesman says he had withdrawn from the event due to "his really busy schedule to commitments to the Gulf of Mexico." He will be replaced at the oil conference by his group chief of staff, Steve Westwell, the spokesman said.

Hayward has faced heavy criticism in the United States for PR blunders in the wake of the catastrophic Gulf of Mexico oil spill, such as attending a yacht race Saturday.

BP has also faced criticism for the pace of its response to the disaster, which was triggered by an explosion on April 20 which ripped through the Deepwater Horizon rig it leased, killing 11 workers.