Fifty-six days after BP’s oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico began, the oil giant has agreed to set-aside $20 billion in an escrow fund to pay damage claims and clean-up costs.

In a letter to BP CEO Tony Hayward earlier this week, Senator Warner and 54 of his colleagues suggested that such a fund be administered by an independent third-party "as an act of good faith and as a first step toward ensuring that there will be no delay in payments or attempts to evade responsibility for damages."

The senators wrote:

"Although creating this account at this level in no way limits BP's liability, we believe it will do more to improve BP's public image than the costly public relations campaign your company has launched."

Read the whole letter below:

Senator Warner also discussed the issue on WSET-ABC13 in Lynchburg...

... And with Rick Rumble on FM99 in Norfolk: