>> announcer:
"nightly news" with
brian williams
.
>>
good evening. i'm
lester holt
, in tonight for brian.
>>>
sometimes
saying sorry
isn't enough which is the position
tony hayward
was in as he spent the day under oath and in the
hot seat
before a
congressional subcommittee
looking into the
gulf oil
disaster.
hayward
told the committee, i feel a great sense of responsibility for the accident. rather than an apology, however, the members wanted specific answers about what
bp
did or didn't do that may have caused the
oil rig
explosion. questions
hayward
mostly deflected, setting off a flurry of testy exchanges. nbc's
kelly
o'donnell has been covering that hearing for us on
capitol hill
.
kelly
, good evening.
>> reporter:
good evening. we have seen during the crisis that
tony hayward
said some things that put him in p.r. trouble like wanting his life back. today, it was all about what he would not say, what he refused to say that put him under fire. so, after 28 years in the
oil business
, three years as ceo he's now had one full day being pounded by congress. as
bp
's global chief pulled up outside
capitol hill
--
>>
what do you expect to happen at today's hearing?
>> reporter:
-- hundreds lined up for the public seats to watch what became a washington-style flogging.
>>
do you swear to tell the truth?
>>
do i.
>> reporter:
just after
tony hayward
swore to testify truthfully, an outburst from a texas shrimper with blackened hands to look like they were soaked with oil. [ shouting ]
>> reporter:
hayward
came prepared to show some contrition.
>>
i understand how serious this situation is. it is a tragedy. i am very, very sorry that this accident occurred.
>> reporter:
but coolly resisted a barrage of questions.
>>
one of the reasons that i am so distraught --
>>
can you answer yes or no?
>>
is it --
>>
i don't want to know whether you are distraught. i want to know whether or not you have kept your commitment. why were the safety recommendations of your own engineers ignored?
>>
i wasn't involved in the decision-making.
>> reporter:
trying to limit nonanswers, lawmakers gave
hayward
a 14-page outline of evidence they say shows
bp
cut corners. the committee included
bp
employee e-mail that described a nightmare well before the disaster. but when asked about specifics during the well's construction that appear to have violated industry standards, according to other
oil company
ceos who testified this week,
hayward
had little to say.
>>
can you tell us how much money
bp
saved by not using the proper number of centralizers?
>>
i'm afraid i can't recall that.
>>
how much time was saved?
>>
i don't recall that either, i'm afraid.
>> reporter:
not buying a faulty memory, committee members of both parties accused
hayward
of deliberate evasion.
>>
i think you are stalling. i think you're insulting our intelligence and i really resent it.
>>
you have not yet provided us with direct answers or taken responsibility thus far today.
>>
with all due respect, mr.
hayward
, i think you're copping out. you're the captain of the ship.
>>
the doublespeak is rather tiresome.
>> reporter:
hayward
refused to draw conclusions today, saying investigations are not complete. but he did say failures in seven technical areas are under the most scrutiny.
>>
so yes or no -- reckless behavior or not?
>>
there is no evidence of reckless behavior.
>>
has anyone in
bp
been fired because of this incident -- anybody?
>>
not --
>>
yes or no?
>>
no, so far.
>>
we are talking about our
way of life
.
>> reporter:
after hours of questioning,
hayward
seemed visibly tired and anxious for it to be over. he even briefly checked his watch. watching his performance and tracking the fate of england's largest company, tv viewers in great britain saw all of this on their nightly news.
>>
bp
's boss
tony hayward
was being diced and sliced today over the
gulf of mexico
oil spill
in the most public way possible, before the
united states congress
.
>> reporter:
that report called him the most hated man in american. today
hayward
told the committee he did not have a lawyer with him in the room, but clearly he had been prepped by
legal counsel
. while that was frustrating it's understandable because the future of
bp
as a company, its ability to pay for all the costs will be judged in part by how people determine
tony hayward
's
performance today
. lester?
>>
kelly
o'donnell, thanks. there was
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