In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster–now in its 52nd day–British Petroleum is losing value fast, which means the company’s shareholders are taking a huge hit.

In response, British businessmen and politicians are rallying around BP and the company’s beleaguered CEO, according to Reuters.

On Monday, the chief executives of some of Britain’s biggest companies including Vodafone, BG Group and WPP gathered for a party at BP’s headquarters to show their support for embattled BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward.

BP confirmed the meeting but denied it was a party.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, a close ally of Prime Minister David Cameron, said the threat to BP’s dividend, which U.S. politicians want cut, was a “matter of national concern”.

“There’s something slightly worrying about the anti-British rhetoric that seems to be permeating from America,” he told BBC radio.

The gusher is leaking 40,000 barrels of oil a day–much higher than earlier estimates–but shareholders are worried about their investment and anti-British rhetoric. I would say I’m stunned, but I’m not.

I’d also say I’m stunned that a company is allowed to operate a rig like this off our coast with no plan for the inevitable worst case scenario, but I’m not. A lot of rich people have spent a lot of money to buy influence and keep regulators at a cozy distance. And this is what you get when there’s no real oversight.

See more photos of the damage this gusher continues to cause at Boston.com. The image above of a reporter swimming in oil is comes from Time Magazine. And here’s a report from ABC News: