VIDEO: Former BP CEO Tony Hayward Can’t Remember The Names Of The Men Who Died On The Deepwater Horizon Rig

Earlier this week, the Daily received a copy of the video deposition of former BP chief Tony Hayward. At one point during the testimony, plaintiff attorney Robert Cunninham questions Hayward about his relationship to the workers at the Deepwater Horizon rig. At first, Hayward expresses his profound sympathy. But moments later, he stumbles and says he can only remember the names of three out of the 11 workers who lost their lives. He only got one out of the three names correct (Karl Kleppinger):

CUNNINGHAM: And did you get the impression that they considered themselves all one big family even though they were from different companies?

HAYWARD: Yes.

CUNNINGHAM: Do you remember any of the names of the individuals who lost their lives?

HAYWARD: Uh, I remember some of them: James Anderson, Gordon Clark, Karl Kleppinger, I think. I can’t remember all of them.

Watch it:

Later in the video, Hayward becomes dodgy and refuses to answer a question about the timing of a BP report that blamed the explosion on the dead workers. Cunningham asked if the report, which was put out on the one year anniversary of the disaster, might have been insensitive to the families of the deceased. Hayward replied that he could not pass “any judgment one way or another” on the sensitivity of the report. After further prodding by the attorney, Hayward grudgingly conceded that the wives of the men could have been hurt by BP’s attempt to shift the blame.

As the Daily notes, Hayward admits to Cunningham later in the deposition that BP’s investigation of itself after the disaster neglected to examine possible failures by BP leadership. When he testified under oath before Congress, Hayward had promised a “full and complete investigation” of his company and the mistakes that led to the Deepwater Horizon spill. The admission of an incomplete investigation suggests that Hayward lied under oath.