The chief executive of BP has said there is 'unreasonable paranoia' about gas supplies to the UK.

In a rare broadcast interview, Tony Hayward told Today presenter Evan Davis that it was "curious as to why there is so much concern about us becoming more reliant on imported gas".

He added that "there's a lot of gas available from many diverse sources," and said that in the past six months the UK had sourced supplies from countries including Norway, Algeria, Egypt and Trinidad.

"It's a very sensible way to bridge between where were are today and where we all want to be in twenty or thirty years' time."

Mr Hayward also said that he expects the oil supply to peak in 2020, but that demand will hit a high before then.