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Ed Miliband has denied reports that he has ordered an immediate ban on new drilling in the North Sea.
The Daily Telegraph claimed that he had overruled his own advisers to impose the policy after less than a week as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero.
The report was widely shared on social media by high-profile figures including shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho and former SNP leader Alex Salmond.
Whatever Labour plans to do on economic growth will be dwarfed by the scale of damage that Ed Miliband will do to Britain’s energy supply. https://t.co/ULr0MGsjod
— Claire Coutinho (@ClaireCoutinho) July 11, 2024
This is the sort of adolescent political posturing which could cost tens of thousands of skilled jobs across the UK, but concentrated in the North East of Scotland. Miliband should remember that in Government, careless talk costs jobs. (1/4) https://t.co/MPDZotNbP8
— Alex Salmond (@AlexSalmond) July 11, 2024
Ed Miliband orders immediate ban on new drilling in the North Sea, overruling his own officials — who advised following a proper process — and almost certain triggering a wave of legal action.
Miliband told regulators not to approve a new round of drilling that was slated for…— Andrew Neil (@afneil) July 11, 2024
An absolutely brain dead decision.
Miliband overrules officials with immediate North Sea oil banhttps://t.co/pt9vB9OYY9
— Nick Timothy MP (@NJ_Timothy) July 11, 2024
But a spokesperson for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero said: “This piece is a complete fabrication – it invents meetings and decisions that have not taken place.
“As previously stated, we will not issue new licences to explore new fields. We will also not revoke existing oil and gas licences and will manage existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan.
“We are working with the North Sea Transition Authority to ensure a fair and balanced transition in the North Sea.”
Labour’s election manifesto pledged that the party would not grant new North Sea exploration licences, but would not cancel those which had already been granted.
Union bosses have warned that the policy could cost thousands of jobs in the oil and gas sector.
