Pathetic: Hours after rare outbreak of common sense with Labour approving gas site, Miliband’s Net Zero madness sees his deluded protege signal she’ll oppose crucial, far larger oilfield

Labour was last night urged to ignore pressure from eco-zealots and to push ahead with drilling in Britain's largest untapped oil field.Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh was poised to reject plans to exploit the Rosebank site – just hours after approving production at the Jackdaw gas...

Ghanamma

October 22, 2026Ghana

By CLAIRE ELLICOTT 00:00 22 Oct 2026, updated 01:04 22 Oct 2026

Labour was last night urged to ignore pressure from eco-zealots and to push ahead with drilling in Britain’s largest untapped oil field.

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh was poised to reject plans to exploit the Rosebank site – just hours after approving production at the Jackdaw gas field.

Calls from union bosses and Labour MPs to press ahead with oil extraction were backed by Donald Trump who urged the UK to go ‘full blast’ and exploit the North Sea’s resources.

But Ms Fahnbulleh signalled that she is likely to reject the plans, saying she did not apply the same rationale to each of the projects.

Climate campaigners object to Rosebank because it would emit about seven times the carbon dioxide of the Jackdaw site.

Ed Miliband, the Foreign Secretary and former energy secretary, is said to be staunchly opposed to the new drilling. Ms Fahnbulleh said: ‘One is a gasfield that caters for the domestic market, while the other is an oilfield that is mainly for export.

‘It is right that we judge each application in its own right, and it is absolutely critical that the decision is consistent with our climate obligations, our carbon budgets and the end destination we need to get to with the energy transition.’

She has already faced objections from Left-wing Labour MPs to her decision to grant permission for Jackdaw, which could begin supplying gas to British homes and businesses within weeks.

The field could account for 6 per cent of North Sea gas production when fully operational and provide a £2.9billion economic boost while protecting jobs.

But Ms Fahnbulleh conceded that it would not mean cheaper energy bills, saying that it would instead contribute to energy security at a time of war in the Middle East.

Unions welcomed her decision to back Jackdaw, with Gary Smith, the GMB general secretary, saying the Government deserved ‘real credit’ for it.

But he urged ministers to go further and approve Rosebank too – a decision that is likely to prove more controversial.

Rosebank is a far bigger project believed to contain between 300million and 500million barrels of oil which could make up about 8 per cent of UK oil production.

The emissions eventually produced by the oil would be seven times those produced by the gas from Jackdaw, say campaigners.

Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra has previously told Andy Burnham that he supports drilling in Rosebank and has argued that it would boost Scotland’s economy.

The Unite general secretary Sharon Graham welcomed the decision on Jackdaw and has previously urged the Government to support Rosebank.

Scottish Labour MP Graeme Downie tweeted that he was ‘glad’ Jackdaw had been approved, adding that the UK would need oil and gas for decades.

Neil McCulloch, chief executive of Adura, the company part-owned by Shell that is behind both projects, said he believed that Rosebank would also be approved.

‘Jackdaw represents a significant prize in its own right: £2.1billion of investment and enough gas to heat the equivalent of around 1.4million UK homes at peak production. Our attention now turns to Rosebank. The case for approval is equally strong.’

Donald Trump, who has repeatedly called for more exploration of the North Sea, said the decision on Jackdaw was ‘great news’.

The US President posted on Truth Social: ‘The U.K. has started drilling in the North Sea, one of the greatest and most prosperous areas of OIL in the World.

‘They should go FULL BLAST!!! This will make the U.K. very wealthy again. TAKE DOWN THE COSTLY AND RIDICULOUS WINDMILLS!’

The Tories called for Rosebank to be approved, with shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie saying the move would boost national security.

Writing in the Daily Mail he said: ‘At a time of such geopolitical uncertainty, with over 80 per cent of UK households relying on gas heating, it is in the national interest to maximise our own North Sea resources and reduce our reliance on expensive, dirtier imports.’

While Labour’s 2024 manifesto committed to issuing no new oil and gas licences for the North Sea, Jackdaw and Rosebank had already received approval. The decisions by the Conservatives were overturned by a legal challenge and fresh assessments completed.

Ms Fahnbulleh has received considerable flak from some Labour MPs over Jackdaw.

Hard-Left MP Richard Burgon said it was an ‘absolutely terrible decision’, while Alex Sobel said it would give ‘mixed messages’ on climate change. Chris Hinchcliff co-ordinated a letter from Left-wing MPs urging the Government not to approve Rosebank.

Environmental campaigners protested outside the Energy Department and the Greens accused Labour of ‘climate vandalism’. They urged the Prime Minister not to give permission for Rosebank which is the next decision the Energy Secretary must make.

Mr Burnham said: ‘We’re committed to moving towards renewable energy. But even on our ambitious climate path, we’ll still require oil and gas as part of our energy needs for decades to come.

That’s why we’re taking a pragmatic approach to the North Sea.’ Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour should have taken the decision to approve Jackdaw earlier instead of ‘faffing about’.

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle said it was ‘shameful’ that the Energy Secretary was not in Parliament to make a statement on the decision.

Asked whether the Energy Secretary’s comments indicated that she was unlikely to approve Rosebank, a spokesman said each project would be ‘assessed on its own merits’.

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