LABOUR MPs have been urged to back new North Sea oil and gas in an open letter.

The letter, signed by the GMB, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), the Chemical Industries Association, Fuels Industry UK and others, insists government opposition to new oil and gas licences will leave the country importing 40 per cent of its fuel.

Calling for Labour to change course, the letter read: “For our jobs and communities, economy and security, and for our climate obligations — we are asking you to back North Sea oil and gas. Not imports.”

Backing the letter, Fuels Industry UK chief executive officer Elizabeth de Jong insisted that “it makes sense to maximise the value created here at home by supporting both refineries and North Sea production,” while GMB general secretary Gary Smith said: “We will need oil and gas for decades to come. 

“Increasing our reliance on imported energy from overseas for the essential elements that power our economy and keep the country going, leaves us worryingly exposed.”

But deputy director of environmental campaign group Uplift, Robert Palmer said: “The government should ignore the special pleading of companies that have got very rich while households faced soaring energy bills and workers saw declining conditions and security.

“Instead, it should invest in industries with a future, like wind manufacturing, that can provide good jobs for generations of workers.”

A Westminster government spokesperson responded: “Oil and gas production will be with us for decades to come, and we will manage existing fields for the entirety of their lifespan — while actively scaling up clean energy industries in the North Sea.

“Issuing new licences to explore new fields cannot give us energy security and will not take a penny off bills.”