Spewing oil and alienating Americans with its chief executive's impolitic remarks, BP may be Public Enemy No. 1 in the United States. But in Britain, where the company is a mainstay of the stock market and a favorite of pension funds, investors and politicians are becoming increasingly angry at the blistering attacks from across the Atlantic. BP's share price, even after recovering some ground in New York trading Thursday, has fallen more than 40 percent since the environmental catastrophe in April, and some analysts say the crisis could lead to the takeover or even the bankruptcy of one of Britain's most valuable and iconic companies. In that atmosphere, the stream of condemnations from Washington has stirred a protective backlash, even in this closest of U.S. allies. Boris Johnson, the Conservative mayor of London, said Thursday that he was worried about 'anti-British rhetoric' and 'name-calling' from American politicians. Prime Minister David Cameron refused to criticize the United States, however, saying he sympathized with its 'frustration' in dealing with its worst environmental disaster in memory. But the chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, signaled careful support for BP, saying that he had spoken to its chief executive, Tony Hayward, and that it was important to remember 'the economic value BP brings to people in Britain and America.' BP is the third largest oil company in the world, after Exxon/Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell, with 80,000 employees worldwide as of December, sales of $239 billion in 2009 and a market value -- even after the recent losses -- of more than $100 billion. At a time when Britain is desperate to reduce its deficit, BP is a huge contributor to British tax revenue, paying nearly $1.4 billion in taxes on its profits last year. Its reputation for reliability and its generous dividends have long made it a favorite of British pension funds. The company's dividend payments accounted for about 13 percent of the dividends handed out by British companies last year, according to FairPensions, a London-based charity. BP also has extensive holdings in the United States. It merged with Amoco, the former Standard Oil of Indiana, in 1998, and about 40 percent of its shares are held by American investors. In an attempt to soothe panicking investors, BP said Thursday that it had 'significant capacity and flexibility in dealing with the cost of responding to the incident, the environmental remediation and the payment of legitimate claims.' On Thursday in Washington, the Obama administration tried to play down the diplomatic tensions, saying the issue was purely between a private company and the U.S. government. 'This is not about the relationship between the United States and its closest ally,' a State Department spokesman, P.J. Crowley, told reporters. 