The co-chairman of a presidential commission on the Gulf oil spill says there is widespread belief that "breathtakingly inept" mistakes by BP, Haliburton and Transocean led to the disaster.

William Reilly said "there is virtual consensus among all the sophisticated observers of this debacle that three of the leading players in the industry made a series of missteps, miscalculations and miscommunications that were breathtakingly inept and largely preventable."

In a speech to oil industry lawyers in New Orleans on Wednesday, he also said the industry must do a much better job of regulating itself.

Reilly, who stressed his opinions were not formal positions of the commission, called for creation of an industry-led group to develop new safety regulations.

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