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Tension is growing between the US and Britain over the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, with London mayor Boris Johnson calling for an end to what he calls "the trashing of a British icon".

Criticism of British oil giant BP has reached fever pitch in the US since the rig exploded more than 50 days ago.

Senior US politicians have recently begun referring to the company as British Petroleum, a name the business has not used since 1998, and president Barack Obama has said he would sack BP's top executive Tony Hayward.

Now outspoken London mayor Boris Johnson has hit back, saying he wants an end to what he says is "anti-British rhetoric".

British prime minister David Cameron says he will raise the issue with Mr Obama in a telephone call this weekend.

Mr Johnson does not deny BP has made monumental mistakes, but he has called for an end to the trashing of an iconic UK company.

"[It] starts to become a matter of national concern if a great British company is being continually beaten up on the international airwaves," he said.

"OK, [it] presided over a catastrophic accident... but ultimately it was an accident that BP I think is paying a very, very heavy price [for] indeed."

That price is easily measured on the London Stock Exchange.

Before oil began spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, BP was Britain's biggest company. It is now worth just half what it was two months ago.

BP makes up 13 per cent of the blue chip FTSE share market index.

In the House of Commons, Labour MP Tom Watson warned of a crisis that risked engulfing millions of British pensioners.

"When one pound in every six pounds in dividends is paid by this company alone, this is now a serious crisis facing millions of pensioners in the UK," he said.

"We need to say to our US allies, [the] world's insatiable appetites for oil is the cause of this, not British pensioners."

The US Justice Department is considering taking out an injunction to stop BP paying dividends to shareholders until the spill is cleaned up.

In the UK there are mounting concerns that attacks on BP are being dictated by the politics of November's mid-term elections in the US, rather than normal regulatory considerations.

The former British ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Mayer, says it is time for the British Government to defend a significant British brand.

"I think the British government needs to say to the US administration, 'We feel your pain, we feel your anger, this is entirely understandable, but don't forget that the survival and long-term prosperity of BP is a vital British interest and this must be taken into account'," he said.

Heartfelt condolences

Seven weeks after the disaster, Mr Obama has held his first meeting with the relatives of the 11 victims who were killed in the explosion on the BP oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

A spokesman says he expressed his heartfelt condolences during the private meeting at the White House.

BP's vice president of strategy Raymond Dempsey has told a Congressional hearing that the company is doing everything it can to respond to the disaster.

"BP is under no illusions about the seriousness of the situation we face," Mr Dempsey said.

"The world is watching us and we know that we'll be judged by our response to this crisis."

BP has today agreed to speed up compensation payments to businesses and individuals in the aftermath of the disaster.

More oil

Meanwhile, new research shows twice the amount of oil than previously thought may have been gushing out of the ruptured well.

US government researchers have been analysing data and pictures from the BP oil well ever since the spill began in April.

They now say up to 40,000 barrels of oil a day may have been leaking from the ruptured well, rather than the previous estimate of up to 25,000 barrels.

The research team has not yet estimated how much oil is still leaking from the well since BP put a containment cap on it last week.

BP says it is capturing about 16,000 barrels of oil a day.

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