Tyrone Benton, a technician on the Deepwater Horizon , claims that he told both BP and the rig operator of a problem that existed with a piece of equipment blamed by many for causing the oil spill. Benton says he gave the warning weeks before the explosion, and that the problem was not fixed. He claims he spotted a leak on the rigs Blowout Preventor (BOP) which is used to shut the well down if an accident occurs. Benton told the BBC's Panorama program that both BP and Transocean, the company that owns the rig, were told of the fault in the rig, and a control pod was switched off rather than being repaired. Bentons interview on BBC can be found here.
