President Obama's comments about the BP oil spill were not "anti-British", the American ambassador to London has said.
Mr Obama angered many in the UK by referring to the multinational company by its old name of "British Petroleum" when making criticisms.
But ambassador Louis Susman said the president "would have said the same thing" if it had been a US firm.
The Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Mexican Gulf on 20 April, killing 11 workers and creating a huge leak.
Mr Obama has said he would have fired BP's top executive Tony Hayward if he were in charge of the company and has supported the idea that it suspend its quarterly dividend for shareholders.