Poll: Should Cameron help BP to cover costs of oil spill?

The company has set aside $38bn to cover the bill for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which claimed 11 lives (EPA)

Energy giant BP has reached out to David Cameron for help with the escalating cost of compensating US companies for the disastrous oil spill in 2010.

BP originally set aside £5.2bn to cover the cost of compensation but now fears the final figure may be much higher.

The company, which is the fifth largest in the world, feels unfairly targeted by the US government. It believes that many of the claims from US businesses it now faces are fictitious or exaggerated.

The BBC's Business editor Robert Peston reports that - should the financial damage keep increasing - the multinational firm also worries it may become a target for takeover by another oil giant.

So should David Cameron intervene? Take our poll.