There is a problem here with pointing fingers at Crisis Communication planning as the scapegoat.

In an article called Some Inconvenient Truths in the Independent it was reported that in the report produced by the Deepwater Horizon Study Group led by Prof. Robert Bea of the Centre for Catastrophic Risk Management at the University of California, Bea concludes that an enterprise was undertaken for which, if something went wrong, there was no immediate remedy.

This points to a failure of BP's planning and a failure of regulation. It is also a filaure of Risk Management in BP.

Perhaps BP did not respond well to the communications part of the crisis. However that is again a failure of management. Management formulates the messages, and gives authority for them to be released.

What is worrying is that in a number of articles issues have emerged - words like complanency, 740 safety deviations (reported ones) and systemic failure.

From an OD (Organisational Development ) perspective, there are problems at a systemic level in BP and it seems that some of this must have filtered through to the Crisis managers.

So, what am I do do now? I have got one of those BP videos that featured Lord Browne saying '' That we believe no accidents, no harm to people and no damage to the environment"'.

Oh, how they must rue Browne's leaving. Messages get distorted and this is the culmination of it.

- Improper well