Beleaguered BP has said its latest efforts to tackle the Gulf of Mexico crisis were likely to capture the "vast majority" of the oil spewing out into the ocean.

Chief executive Tony Hayward told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show the cap lowered on to the well on the seabed had collected "about 10,000 barrels" of oil in the past 24 hours.

The cap - installed by robot submarines a mile below the sea surface last week - is capturing "the majority, probably the vast majority" of the oil, the BP boss said.

The company is also working on a "more permanent solution" likely to be in place by the end of the month, and designed to resist the fast-approaching hurricane season.

Two relief wells meanwhile are being drilled below the seabed to intercept the spilling well, although these will not be completed until August.

The company has also launched huge efforts to tackle the spill on the surface and protect the coast but has come under intense fire in the US.

BP has already spent more than one billion US dollars (£682 million) on containment and clean-up efforts since the the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank on April 20, killing 11 workers.