BP $50m blast fine 'not enough'

BP says that it has apologised and is paying a record fine

A $50m (£25m) fine being proposed as punishment for an explosion at a BP plant in Texas is too low, lawyers for the victims' families have said.

Such an amount would be "part of the ordinary cost of doing business" and not punitive enough, they argued.

The Texas City refinery blast killed 15 people and injured 180 others in 2003.

A report by the US Chemical Safety Board (CSB) and US Justice Department blamed management and said that safety procedures were deficient at the plant.

'Substantial penalty'

The $50m fine was brokered by prosecutors in a plea agreement with BP.

As well as paying the money, BP also agreed to admit a crime in relation to the explosion and be placed on probation for three years.

"The government was unduly and unnecessarily generous in these negotiations," said the lawyers acting for the victims' families.

We have apologised for the harm caused by our mistakes BP

In a statement to a US court, the lawyers added that "only a very substantial penalty well in excess of $50 million would send the message to BP...that laws of the US are designed to take the profit out of crime".

As well as asking for the fine level to be rejected, the lawyers also called on BP to be forced to create an ethics and compliance program to monitor the refinery's operations.

A US district judge is set to make a decision on whether the plea deal is valid in February.

The $50m fine was part of a larger agreement for BP to pay $373m to settle a number of both criminal and civil charges - including a price manipulation scandal and a pipeline leak in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay.

BP said that was investing $1bn to refurbish the Texas City plant, and had paid out more than $1.6bn in compensation to victims of the blast and their families.

"We have apologised for the harm caused by our mistakes," the firm said.