A FORMER Labour energy minister has signed a cross-party declaration calling on “continued exploration and development of UK oil and gas”.

Brian Wilson, who also served as a trade and Scottish minister under Tony Blair, said Labour must be “flexible” when it comes to North Sea oil and gas to ensure a just transition for workers.

The cross-party declaration was also signed by former UK Tory ministers Amber Rudd and Charles Hendry. Former Lib Dem Scottish secretary Alistair Carmichael also signed it, as did the SNP’s Fergus Ewing.

It’s called on the UK government to prioritise carbon capture and storage technologies, adding: “All political parties should retain flexibility within their policy positions in recognition of the fluid nature of domestic and global factors which can impact upon security of supply and affordability.”

Sir Keir Starmer has said new drilling licences will be banned if he wins the keys to Number 10, with reports suggesting that the party will not compromise.

Labour also says tens of thousands of jobs will be created by a public energy firm – Great British Energy – harnessing the natural resources around Scotland to fund public services.

The party claims 69,000 jobs in Scotland will be created as a result of Great British Energy, and rejects analysis from Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce and Stifel that 100,000 jobs are at risk should they proceed with their North Sea plans.

However while key details, such as the location of the publicly-owned firm, have yet to be published, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes has called on Labour to give more clarity on GB Energy.

“First it was going to be an energy company, now it’s an investment arm. The problem for developers and for government is actually having the clarity on what GB Energy will mean,” she said, on a visit to a wind farm in East Lothian.

She added: “In July this year households in Scotland will be paying £300 — even with the energy price cap — more than they were two years ago. We’re surrounded here by the supply and the production of clean, green energy.

“There’s an unfairness there and I don’t see any proposals around GB Energy actually tackling that unfairness.”

Labour insists it’s Green Prosperity Plan, which includes establishing GB Energy in Scotland, will bring down people’s bills, grow the economy, create jobs and deliver energy security.