After a four-month investigation, BP has identified a number of critical failings which contributed to the Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent spill.

The company, which called in external experts to contribute to the report, apportioned blame to a "complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human judgments, engineering design, operational implementation and team interfaces", and stressed that there was no single cause responsible for the disaster, in which 11 rigworkers were killed.

Technical faults in the subsurface blowout preventer and operational failures onboard the Transocean rig were said to have exacerbated both the ferocity of the explosion and the size of the spill.

Looking ahead, the company stressed that a greater focus on oil and gas training would be critical to ensure future operational safety and success, but the group is likely to face further criticism for failing to ensure safety standards were enforced before the disaster.

As the Financial Times claims, the "shadow" of BP's poor safety record in the US and the rest of the world looms large over the report.

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