BRITAIN'S oil companies have rarely found it easy to appear consistent when it comes to putting forward a strong message that safety has become a top priority from the boardroom down. As the pumps ran dry in the UK's recent petrol crisis, oil companies, harangued by Prime Minister Tony Blair for not making a big enough effort to get stranded road tankers out of blockaded depots and refineries, chose to cite driver safety as their main concern.
Time to pay the piper off UK coastline
Oil companies should play an even hand and give their offshore workforces better terms and conditions if they are serious about improving safety performance
6 October 2000 0:00 GMT
Updated
6 October 2000 0:00 GMT