Defiant Hayward: I Was Spill's Whipping Boy

"I became a villain for doing the right thing," departing BP head Tony Hayward said in his first interview since resigning, complaining that he had become a whipping boy in the US because "people find it easier to vilify an individual more than a company." In the interview with the Wall Street Journal, Hayward said he did everything possible to take responsibility for the Gulf oil spill, cap the spill, and clean up the oil-damaged shore.

Hayward added that he resented the Obama administration's lashings but "understood their frustration." While the CEO has been demonized in the US, he's become something of a celebrity in his native UK, where he was greeted with a standing ovation at BP headquarters this week. Hayward will remain at BP in a low-profile role as a board member of the company's Russia venture.
(More Tony Hayward stories.)