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US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is due to testify on the federal government’s response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP’s Lamar McKay will also appear before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Oil has been spewing into the Gulf since BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on 20 April.

US President Barack Obama has described it as a "potentially unprecedented" environmental disaster.

Senator Joseph Lieberman, chair of the committee, said it had "lots of questions" to ask Ms Napolitano and Mr McKay, BP America’s chairman, about what happened.

Mr McKay was among oil industry executives called to Congressional hearings last week, but this is the first time Congress will have an opportunity to question a senior Obama administration official about the government’s handling of the crisis.

Coast Guard Rear Admiral Peter Neffenger will also testify about the authorities’ response.

Compensation claims

BP said on Monday it was managing to funnel the equivalent of 1,000 barrels a day of oil from the blown well to a tanker ship with the use of a mile-long tube.

That would amount to a fifth of the estimated daily spill of 5,000 barrels – an estimate made by the Coast Guard and BP, but increasingly challenged by other experts as being too small.

"This is just containing the flow, later this week, hopefully before the end of the week, we’ll make our next attempt to actually fully stop the flow," BP Chief Operating Officer Doug Suttles told NBC’s Today programme.

BP finally managed to insert the tube into the leaking pipe, using underwater robots, on Sunday at the third attempt.

But, in a joint statement, Ms Napolitano and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said the latest technique was "not a solution to the problem and it is not yet clear how successful it may be".

It added: "We will not rest until BP permanently seals the well head, the spill is cleaned up, and the communities and natural resources of the Gulf Coast are restored and made whole."

BP also said on Monday it had received 15,000 claims for compensation, and had already paid out on 2,500 claims. It reinterated it would pay all "legitimate claims".

Over the weekend, Ms Napolitano and Mr Salazar had called for "immediate public clarification" from BP over its intentions about paying clean-up costs.

Current US law limits energy companies’ liability for lost business and local tax revenues from oil spills to $75m.

But experts warn that BP’s total liability for the spill could run into billions of dollars.

Lurking slicks

Scientists said on Sunday they had found vast underwater plumes of oil, one 10 miles (16km) long and a mile wide, lending weight to the fears of those who believe the actual spill could be many times greater than the estimate of 5,000 barrels daily.

Researchers from the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology said they had detected the slicks lurking just beneath the surface of the sea and at depths of 4,000ft (1,200m).

Samantha Joye, a marine science professor at the University of Georgia, said: "It could take years, possibly decades, for the system to recover from an infusion of this quantity of oil and gas.

"We’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s impossible to fathom the impact."

Chemical dispersants BP has been dumping underwater may be preventing the oil from rising to the top of the ocean, the scientists said.

The find suggests the scale of the potential environmental disaster is much worse than previously feared since the rig blew up, killing 11 workers.

Some scientists cast doubt on BP’s estimate of the oil flow rate, saying the widely repeated figure of 5,000 barrels per day dramatically understates the real amount.

A week ago, BP tried to cap the well with a 100-tonne box but gave up after it became encrusted with ice crystals.

Mississippi has become the third US state to have traces of oil wash up on its coast, along with Louisiana and Alabama.

The spill is threatening to eclipse the 1989 Exxon Valdez leak off Alaska as America’s worst environmental disaster.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Swindon01 Lucas (Smith 5)02 Cuthbert06 Greer red card19 Jean-Francois Lescinel21 Darby04 Douglas yellow card07 McGovern24 Ward30 Ferry (Amankwaah 72)20 Paynter (O’Brien 64)32 AustinSubstitutes12 Smith,15 Amankwaah,08 Easton,10 Timlin,18 O’Brien,05 Pericard,09 NoubleRef: SwarbrickAtt: 21,521SWINDONPossessionCharlton 59%Swindon 41%Attempts on targetCharlton 20Swindon 8Attempts off targetCharlton 6Swindon 4CornersCharlton 11Swindon 4FoulsCharlton 20Swindon 12

Coca Cola League One play-off semi-final, second legVenue: The Valley Date: Monday, 17 May Kick-off: 1945 BSTCoverage: BBC Sport website, BBC Radio 5 live, BBC London 94.9, BBC Wiltshire on all FM frequencies, live on Sky Sports 1

TEAM NEWS

Charlton will check on defender Sam Sodje’s knee injury as they attempt to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit in their play-off semi-final.

Miguel Llera could deputise if Sodje is out, while full-backs Grant Basey (ankle) and Kelly Youga (knee) are the only definite injury absentees.

Swindon striker Billy Paynter remains a major doubt with a hamstring strain.

Charlie Austin and Danny Ward are set to continue in attack after scoring the goals which gave Swindon their lead.

Swindon Town manager Danny Wilson told BBC Wiltshire: "The Valley is a tough place to go and it’ll be banging and thumping just as it was at the County Ground on Friday night.

"We’ve got to embrace it and we’ll need to approach it like we did when we went to Leeds and Southampton.

"It’s often the last 10-15 minutes of the second leg when the sparks start to fly and I don’t think it’s going to be any different."

BIG-MATCH FACTS

Head to head

• These clubs have met 56 times previously; Charlton have won 25, Swindon 13 with 18 drawn.

• Goals from Charlie Austin and Daniel Ward have given Swindon a 2-1 lead going into this second leg. Charlton’s goal was scored by Deon Burton.

• Swindon have won one of their last five league and cup visits to Charlton; they prevailed 1-0 in the Championship in March 2000 with a goal from Steve Cowe. Charlton were top of the table at the time, and Swindon bottom, and they finished the season in those positions.

Charlton Athletic

• The club trailing after the first leg of their play-off semi-final has gone on to win the tie, and then to gain promotion to the second tier four times in since 1993. Barnsley were the most recent in 2006.

• Spent the first half of the season in the top two, but fell out of the automatic promotion places at the start of 2010, and never returned to them.

• Eager to make an instant return to the Championship; not experienced consecutive seasons in the third tier for 35 years.

• Successful in the first ever play-offs, when they retained their top-flight status in 1987.

• Promoted to the Premier League in 1998 after, arguably the most dramatic play-off final ever, when they drew 4-4 with Sunderland after extra time, and won 7-6 on penalties.

• Phil Parkinson’s first experience of the play-offs as a manager was Friday night’s odd goal in three defeat.

• The club finishing two places below the automatic spots in the third tier has won promotion on five occasions since 1991. Brighton were the most recent in 2004.

Swindon Town

• It’s three years since a club won their opening match in the play-off semi-finals, and then went on to win promotion to the Championship (Blackpool, 2007).

• Swindon finished in fifth, one place and two points inferior to Charlton.

• Since 1991 when the play-offs assumed their current format, the club finishing three places below the automatic promotion spots has been promoted to the second tier only twice (Sheffield Wednesday in 2005, and Barnsley in 2006).

• They conceded 57 goals, making their defence the weakest of the four clubs in these play-offs.

• Won two of their last three in all competitions, and failed to win five of seven.

• Hoping to rise out of League One after a three-year stay.

• Last promoted to the second tier in 1996, where they stayed for four seasons.

• Promoted to the second tier in the first ever play-offs in 1987, and also successful in them in 1990 and 1993.

•This is the third play-off campaign for manager Danny Wilson. He was unsuccessful with Bristol City in 2003 and 2004.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

New rules to allow planes to fly at higher ash densities for a limited time will be introduced at noon on Tuesday, the Civil Aviation Authority has said.

To fly in the ash zone, airlines will need to get agreement from their aircraft and engine manufacturers.

The authority’s move has been welcomed by airlines, regulators and manufacturers.

It comes after heavy criticism of the current no-fly zone system by airline chiefs.

Thousands of passengers have been stranded by the latest raft of flight cancellations following airport closures across the UK.

All restrictions have now been lifted, after the volcanic ash cloud over UK airspace moved away, but knock-on disruption continues.

Airport operators are advising passengers to check for delays to their flights with airlines.

‘Exceptional features’

Air traffic control company Nats said it was "delighted" by the new measures, which meant there were "no predicted restrictions on UK airspace in the immediate future".

CAA chief executive Andrew Haines said "unprecedented situations" required "new measures" and the challenge posed by the volcano could not be underestimated.

"The world’s top scientists tell us that we must not simply assume the effects of this volcano will be the same as others elsewhere.

"Its proximity to the UK, the length of time it is continuously erupting and the weather patterns are all exceptional features.

"The answer can only come, therefore, from aircraft and engine manufacturers establishing what level of ash their products can safely tolerate," he said.

Jim French, chief executive of budget airline Flybe – the only airline so far to satisfy the CAA’s conditions – said he welcomed the move.

He said the airline had been forced to cancel 381 flights during the past 48 hours but if the new criteria had already been in place, it would have only affected 21 flights.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said the CAA, aircraft and engine manufacturers and airlines had been working "extremely hard" to "get people flying".

Airline criticism

Airlines had been calling for the system – which uses Met Office data to set out no-fly zones – to be revised.

Earlier, British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh had said blanket bans on flying were "a gross over-reaction to a very minor risk" and called for a "much better and more sensible" approach.

Ash cloud forecast17 May 1800 GMT18 May 0000 GMT

Meanwhile Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said reliance on "outdated, inappropriate and imaginary" computer-generated volcano concentration charts was "ridiculous".

On Sunday, Virgin Atlantic president Sir Richard Branson called the closure of Manchester airport "beyond a joke".

The CAA had already raised the density threshold level that forces a flight ban once, following six days of airport closures in April.

Since the Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted last month, throwing huge amounts of ash into the air, thousands of flights have been delayed or cancelled across Europe due to fears that ash could turn into molten glass within a hot jet engine, crippling the aircraft.

Stranded passengers

The latest UK disruption saw airspace over Northern Ireland close first on Saturday, before the cloud moved south and grounded flights in many parts of the UK on Sunday.

On Monday, thousands of passengers were left to rebook their flights or to wait in airports for new departure times.

Virgin Trains said 7,000 extra seats had been made available on Monday, mainly on routes between Birmingham and Glasgow and Edinburgh, and between London Euston and Glasgow.

Eurostar laid on six extra trains through the Channel Tunnel on Monday, amounting to about 5,500 additional seats.

In the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s Schiphol and Rotterdam airports reopened from 1300 local time (1200 BST) after being closed for seven hours.

Among the affected travellers who contacted the BBC News website was Matt Pope, from Guildford, who e-mailed to say it was the third time the ash had disrupted his travel plans. On the first occasion he was stuck in North Carolina for six days.

He wrote: "Last weekend the Easyjet flight from Prague to Gatwick was cancelled due to aircraft positioning problems after ash in central Europe.

"This was after we ran the marathon and I missed my flight to Singapore the next day causing expensive rescheduling.

"Now I am sat at Heathrow awaiting for a flight to NY. Will this ever end?"

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This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

A key committee of Euro MPs has backed a directive that may lead to greater supervision of the hedge fund industry.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

British Airways wins an injunction to stop the latest strikes by its cabin staff, which had been due to start on Tuesday.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Backbench MP Jon Cruddas has ruled himself out of the Labour leadership race, saying he does not want the job – nor to be prime minister.

Mr Cruddas, who came third in the 2007 deputy leadership race, said the jobs required "qualities I do not possess".

But he said he wanted to help rebuild and energise the party.

Brothers David and Ed Miliband have officially declared they will both run to replace Gordon Brown and Ed Balls has not ruled himself out.

Former health secretary Andy Burnham is also thought to be taking soundings – and the veteran left wing MP John McDonnell has said he will run, if he can get the support of sufficient MPs.

‘Humbled by enthusiasm’

The contest was triggered by Mr Brown’s resignation as Labour leader and prime minister last week, when the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats agreed to form a coalition government.

Mr Cruddas, an influential backbencher who turned down a job offer from Gordon Brown when he became prime minister in 2007, had been thought likely to stand for the leadership as a standard-bearer for the grassroots and the left of the party.

But the Dagenham MP said while "many people" had urged him to stand: "I do not feel that I am in a position to deliver on the hopes and expectations that will be placed in the next leader."

He said he had been "humbled" by the enthusiasm shown for his candidacy and had given it "serious thought". And he said he was "determined to play a full role in the reinvigoration" of the Labour Party.

But he added: "To put it simply, that role of rebuilding and energising the party is a job that doesn’t have a vacancy.

"I would like to be involved in the debate about the future direction of the party and how we reconnect with our lost voters.

"But I cannot enter a leadership election just to contribute to a debate, to go into this must be on the basis of running to win and hand on heart I do not want to be leader of the Labour Party or, subsequently, prime minister. These require certain qualities I do not possess."

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said it was interesting that Mr Cruddas had not endorsed anyone else – as he would be a welcome supporter for the leadership rivals, because he was likely to bring with him endorsement from the trade unions.

Earlier, David Miliband officially launched his leadership campaign – warning against "re-fighting the battles of the past".

"The Blair-Brown era is over. New Labour is not new any more. New Labour did fantastic things for the country but what counts is next Labour," he said.

His brother Ed has said the party must renew itself and needed to be "clear and honest" about the scale of its election defeat.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

Cardinal Brady has said he will stay on as the Archbishop of Armagh.

He had been facing increasing pressure to resign after he participated in an investigation into clerical abuse.

It was revealed in March that the Cardinal was present when children signed vows of silence over allegations against a paedophile priest in 1975.

Dr Brady also revealed he has asked a Vatican inspection of child protection procedures to include a visit to the Armagh diocese.

His comments follow the publication of the Annual Report of the National Board for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church in Ireland.

It found that nearly 200 new allegations of abuse have been reported to the Catholic Church’s child protection watchdog since April 2009.

In a statement, Cardinal Brady said he was committed with all his "human weaknesses to walk this journey of renewal and to discern God’s will for the Church at this time".

Dr Brady said the impact on abuse survivors of the "drip-by-drip revelation of past failings has to be addressed".

The Archbishop revealed he had held both public and private meetings with survivors of abuse.

"I also listened to people from the Diocese, in Parishes and in Diocesan groups."

Cardinal Brady said he was committed to building on the substantial progress made in child safeguarding in recent years and to achieve the objectives set out by Pope Benedict XVI in his pastoral letter to Irish Catholics.

He has also asked Pope Benedict for an additional bishop in the diocese.

Cardinal Brady said that he would be appointing a Director of Child Safeguarding for the diocese who would handle all future allegations of child abuse and report to civil authorities in both jurisdictions.

Sharing ‘soft information’

"In the future, it will be this statutory authority and not the Church (or any other organisation which works with children in Northern Ireland) that will decide who is permitted to work with children," he said.

" As part of our registration with this new Independent Safeguarding Authority, Bishops in Northern Ireland will give a commitment to sharing ‘soft information’ held or known about any person working in a Church context, as well as all allegations of abuse, with the new Authority."

The head of Ireland’s Catholics apologised in March for his role in mishandling the case of a serial child abuser.

As a priest in 1975 Cardinal Sean Brady was at meetings where children signed vows of silence over complaints against paedophile priest Fr Brendan Smyth.

The Catholic Church in Ireland released more details about why Cardinal Brady asked two victims, aged 10 and 14, to sign secrecy agreements.

The church said the boys were asked to sign oaths "to avoid potential collusion" in evidence-gathering for an internal church inquiry.

It added this this would ensure that the complaints could "withstand challenge."

The church statement did not explain why either Cardinal Brady or his superiors at the time did not share their information with the police. Fr Smyth went on to abuse more children in the following years.

This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.