Reports the energy secretary overruled officials by ordering an “immediate” ban on North Sea oil and gas licences is a “fabrication”, the UK Government has said.
The Telegraph reported that Ed Miliband told regulators not to approve a new round of drilling that was set to get under way in the coming weeks in an “unusual intervention into what is typically an apolitical process”.
The newspaper said the former Labour leader had overruled officials in his own department - the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero - with the order.
It said the move could lead to legal action from oil and gas companies that have invested vast sums of money surveying areas and preparing to drill them.
But the UK Government strenuously denied the report, calling it a “complete fabrication” and saying it “invents meetings and decisions that have not taken place”.
A spokesperson said the UK Government will not issue new licenses to explore new oil fields but would not revoke existing licenses.
The policy was part of the Labour General Election manifesto.