US, UK agree no gain from damaging BP-UK official

TORONTO, June 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed on Saturday there was nothing to be gained from damaging BP, a British official said.

The official said that Cameron had raised the issue of BP, which is facing a multi-billion dollar clean-up bill for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, in his first face-to-face meeting with Obama since taking office last month.

'The PM raised BP and both agreed that there was nothing to be gained from damaging BP as a going concern,' the official said.

'Both agreed that BP must meet its obligations to cap the leak, clean up the damage and meet legitimate compensation costs.'

BP shares nosedived to a 14-year low on Friday and the company has seen $100 billion wiped off its market value since the start of the disaster, now in its 68th day. Keywords: G20 BP/CAMERON (Reporting by Sumeet Desai; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama; Reuters messaging: [e-mail]; [phone]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.