UK’s Cameron, Obama to talk BP at G8/G20 summit

British Prime Minister David Cameron is expected to discuss BP with U.S. President Barack Obama when the two meet this weekend, Cameron's spokesman said on Wednesday.

The discussion, following British concern that Obama has been too harsh on the oil company following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, could add to diplomatic tensions bubbling away ahead of the G8/G20 summit in Canada.

"It is in all our interests that this company is strong and secure," Cameron told parliament, noting BP employed more people in the United States than in Britain and had many U.S. shareholders.

"BP itself wants to pay for the clean up. It wants to stop the gushing of oil into the Gulf. But we do want to make sure that it remains a strong and stable company for our benefits, but also for the benefits of the United States."

Obama and Cameron, who spoke by telephone on Tuesday, will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G8/G20 summits in Canada on Saturday.

Global leaders face difficult discussions this weekend on how to rein in large government borrowing bills while sustaining economic recovery following the financial crisis.

Obama wrote to the G20 group of developed and emerging economies this month, preaching patience on deficit reduction given risks to the global economy.

Cameron's coalition government unveiled the harshest austerity drive in a generation on Tuesday to tackle a record budget deficit. Other European nations are also clamping down on public debt to stave off a continent-wide fiscal crisis.