Before U.K. compromise, there was an extortion:

UK PM to visit Washington next month |

Reuters
Sat, Jun 12 . Obama tells Britain: BP must pay economic claims

UK PM Cameron to visit Washington next month | Reuters

After U.K. Kneeling down,
With help from the 'publicans - BP might not have to pay $$$

U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier, who's presiding over the more than 300 consolidated lawsuits against the company, was taken aback when BP attorney Don Haycraft floated the idea of the liability cap. Barbier replied simply that "BP said it would pay whatever [is] necessary." Steven Herman, a plaintiffs attorney in the case, also registered surprise. "We're shocked over here to hear the defendants now bring up this $75 million cap," he said. "We were under the impression it was waived."
...
Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act in 1990 in the wake of the Exxon Valdez spill. Under the law's provisions, BP is liable for all cleanup related costs but can't be compelled to pay anything above the $75 million ceiling in damage claims arising from the spill. Some lawmakers (Democrats) tried to raise the cap retroactively to $10 billion, but Senate 'publicans blocked those efforts.

BP attorney suggests that the oil giant might seek to cap spill claims at $75 million | The Upshot Yahoo! News
You may see it's the rich people rule this country.