By Keith Weir
LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday it was in everyone's interests for BP <:BP.LO:>to remain a financially strong and stable company following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Cameron, who is on his way home from Afghanistan, spoke to BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg and expressed his frustration about the environmental damage caused by the massive leak.
"Mr Svanberg made clear that BP will continue to do all that it can to stop the oil spill, clean up the damage and meet all legitimate claims for compensation," a spokesman for the prime minister said, adding this issue would be raised by the premier in a call with U.S. President Barack Obama on Saturday.
Cameron, who took office last month, faces a tricky balancing act over the issue.
He is under fire at home for not doing enough to protect a company that provides more than 12 percent of all dividends paid by British companies.
However, he is wary of picking a fight with the U.S., Britain's strongest ally, at a time when the two countries are fighting a war in Afghanistan and engaged in a diplomatic drive to halt Iran's nuclear programme.
"He (the prime minister) said that it is in everyone's interests that BP continues to be a financially strong and stable company," a spokesman for Cameron said.
Shares in BP, which has seen tens of billions of dollars wiped off its stock value since the spill crisis began on April 20, were up 7 percent in London trading before Cameron's comments.
They had been supported by a feeling the Conservative-led coalition was taking a stronger line in backing the company which has been battered by media in the United States and drawn criticism from Obama.
Finance minister George Osborne issued a statement on Thursday evening underlining the economic value of BP after Cameron's first substantive comments on the crisis had failed to silence critics who want him to speak up for BP.
In the absence of Cameron, Svanberg met Osborne for face-to-face talks in London on Friday before speaking to the prime minister.
Right-leaning newspapers in Britain have taken Cameron to task for failing to defend British interests, signalling an end to a short political honeymoon he has enjoyed since his election victory in May.
The issue risks becoming a lightning rod for critics who feel the coalition with the left-leaning Lib Dems risks betraying the Conservatives' core values.
(Editing by Matthew Jones)
