23rd Oct 2026 11:48
(Alliance News) - UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Friday said the decision on the Rosebank oil field will be "done properly" when asked about the potential for an approval to be overturned by the courts.
It comes after UK government ministers gave the go-ahead to the Jackdaw gas field, 150 miles east of Aberdeen in Scotland, after years of uncertainty and a court case.
The decision drew criticism from some Labour Party backbenchers and environmentalists, while Conservatives called on the government to also approve the Rosebank oil field, west of Shetland in Scotland's north.
Burnham has pledged to stick to the UK's net zero target despite giving the greenlight to Jackdaw.
Asked about the possibility of courts overturning a Rosebank approval, the prime minister said on Friday: "Well, that's a decision that will be taken in due course.
"What we have done this week is taken great care over the decision about Jackdaw because it wasn't done properly in the past, and that led to the decision being struck down.
"What people can be certain about is things will be done properly going forward.
"And in relation to Jackdaw, people will question: Was that the right decision? It is going to be a bridge to a renewable future?
"The funds that it will release will be able to go into building out that clean energy system that the country needs, which is a further part of our national resilience going forward."
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has said there is a "tight" framework for making the decision to avoid courts overturning it and that she would have the final say.
She told reporters at a press gallery lunch: "Because it is so contested, process really matters, and the last government learned that because they didn't read the process properly, and that's why we've had this massive delay.
"Because it got contested, it got turned over in the courts.
"So ultimately, only I can make that decision."
Fahnbulleh added that the "framework is really tight" and said that even her advisers do not see the documents she is reviewing.
It requires weighing up things such as energy security, jobs and the impact on climate, she said.
Fahnbulleh added: "And you have to think about the balance of all those things in order to come to the right determination.
"But it sits heavy for such a big, controversial decision because, in the end, only I can make it.
"And if it is overturned by other colleagues, all that means is we're going to be overturned in the courts."
Burnham reaffirmed in an article for The Guardian his commitment to Labour's net zero target as well as its manifesto pledge to block new North Sea licences.
He wrote: "There has been much speculation about what this announcement means for Britain's commitment to addressing the climate crisis.
"I want to be clear that our determination is unwavering.
"The simple truth is that even as we pursue our ambitious target of net zero by 2050, we will need oil and gas for years to come as a bridge to that clean-energy future."
Burnham's comments came amid Tory calls to approve the Rosebank oil field to reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas.
The government previously labelled reports that Rosebank could be rejected as "speculation".
Shadow energy secretary Andrew Bowie said: "Approving Rosebank is common sense, both for our domestic energy security and when it comes to supporting our allies in Europe.
"We can 'Fuel Britannia' at the same time as helping Europe to reduce its reliance on Russia. "But that means making the most of the resources on our doorstep."
Fuel Britannia refers to the Tories' plan to scrap the ban on new licences in the North Sea and increase domestic gas and oil production.
By Helen Corbett and Jessica Coates, Press Association
source: PA
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