Independent (UK): Oil companies have been given the go-ahead to press on with the hunt for oil and gas in the deep waters off the coast of Britain despite the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. BP, whose Deepwater Horizon rig has been spilling up to a million gallons of oil a day into the fragile waters off the southern United States, is leading the drive to exploit the North Sea’s remaining hydrocarbons. The British Government has said it has no plans to follow the United States and Norway …