Keir Starmer visiting a green energy facility in Scotland. (Image: Getty)
Kemi Badenoch has accused Sir Keir Starmer of bending “the knee to anyone who asks him” over the Rosebank oil and gas field.
The Tory leader made the claim during a clash at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.
Mrs Badenoch asked Sir whether he had “the guts” to approve new British oil and gas licence applications.
She said: “This is a weak answer, because he doesn’t know what is going on. Last week, I asked about the employment Bill, he didn’t know what was going on. We asked about the education Bill, he didn’t know what was going on. Let me tell him what is going on, maybe he can answer some questions.
“Shell has said a one-year delay to Rosebank will cost £350 million and the loss of a thousand jobs. Equinor has said a two-year delay to Jackdaw will cost £800 million. The only benefit I can see is the £400,000 to Labour ministers.
“At a time of war in Europe, threatened energy security, increased competition from the US and elsewhere, we should be getting British oil and gas out of the ground. Does the Prime Minister have the guts to take on Labour donors and his Energy Secretary and approve the licence applications when they are resubmitted?”
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has been accused of “caving to eco-zealots” after judges thwarted plans to develop the UK’s largest untapped oilfield.
Greenpeace and Uplift successfully argued that process had not been followed in granting consent for the Rosebank oil field and Jackdaw gas field.
The Government and North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) were found to have acted unlawfully by not taking into account emissions resulting from the burning of the extracted fuels.
Responding to Mrs Badenoch, the Prime Minister said: “She doesn’t even want to know what’s going on, otherwise she’d have asked for the relevant briefing.
“But she knows the position on Rosebank, she knows the court case that has meant that the licence has got to be reviewed. There’s a process that’s got to be gone through in the proper way. She understands that, but yet again she’s proving all she can do is student politics and playing party politics.”
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Mrs Badenoch had earlier in the Commons asked Sir Keir why Mr Miliband withdrew Government lawyers from defending a case against “eco nutters” who want to obstruct Rosebank’s oil and gas fields.
She has asked whether the Energy Secretary refused “to defend UK interests because he’s funded by billionaire eco-zealots”.
Mrs Badenoch asked: “How can anyone believe that this man is defending UK interests when he bends the knee to anyone who asks him? His answer was so weak and so waffly, it’s no wonder he needs a voice coach, but he didn’t answer the question I asked him – why the Energy Secretary was not defending our country?
Prime Minister Sir said: “If the Leader of the Opposition is properly briefed on the national security implications when she’s asking these questions, which she’s perfectly entitled to do, then she knows exactly what I’m talking about in terms of national security and legal certainty.
“If, on the other hand, she’s not properly briefed on the national security implications, she’s not doing her job, she’s not concerned about national security, and she’s not fit to be prime minister.”
The were in power when the green light was given for Shell’s proposals to develop the Jackdaw field in 2022 and Equinor and Ithaca Energy’s Rosebank plans in September 2023.
Mr Miliband’s Department for Net Zero has been consulting on a new process – despite pledging not to approve any new licences in the North Sea basin.
A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesman said: “The Government has already consulted on revised environmental guidance to take into account emissions from burning extracted oil and gas to provide stability for industry, support investment, protect jobs and deliver economic growth.
“We will respond to this consultation as soon as possible and developers will be able to apply for consents under this revised regime.
“Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives towards our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good, long-term jobs.”