One of the Labour Party's biggest union backers has accused the party of "closing down Aberdeen" with its "bonkers" North Sea oil and gas policies.
Gary Smith of the GMB has attacked the UK Government and accused ministers of "cutting off investment" in oil and gas while increasing foreign energy imports, a move he says is "catastrophic for the environment".
Mr Smith also raised concerns about the number of jobs which will be created by Great British Energy, sounding the alarm that the government has "over-promised" on what the state-owned energy company can deliver.
Speaking to the Daily Record, the GMB General Secretary said: "Cutting off investment into oil and gas is bonkers. We could be getting investment into oil and gas that will allow us to create jobs.
"Just switching off investment in the North Sea is absolute madness. It's bad for national security, it's bad for jobs and the truth is it's catastrophic for the environment because we are importing oil and gas, which is far more carbon intensive than producing it ourselves."
He said of net zero: "We don't disagree with the destination. We realise that climate change is a huge threat. We want to build a low carbon future, but you do not do that by closing down Aberdeen, by shutting off domestic oil and gas production."
Sir Keir Starmer and Gary Smith
He also suggested the people were feeling let down by Great British Energy to date, adding: “The risk is they’re going to open a shiny new office with a dozen civil servants in Aberdeen on a high street full of charity shops—because they’re closing the city down."
SNP MSP Kevin Stewart jumped on the remarks. He said: "Just this week the UK Labour Government gave the go ahead to a carbon capture project in England whilst it continues to dither in giving backing to Project Acorn in Aberdeenshire.
"Scotland has the natural resources and skilled workforce required to be a renewables superpower but is continually treated as an afterthought by successive UK governments. We have the energy, we just need the power."
A UK Government spokesperson said: "The government is delivering the next generation of good jobs for North Sea workers, including in carbon capture, hydrogen and offshore wind.
"We have already taken rapid steps to deliver a fair and orderly transition, with the biggest ever investment in offshore wind and two first of a kind carbon capture and storage clusters.
"This comes alongside Great British Energy, headquartered in Aberdeen, which has already announced a £300m investment into British supply chains, unlocking significant investment and helping to create thousands of skilled jobs."