TURNING the North Sea transition into a “renewables powerhouse” must be a “national mission” for both UK and Scottish governments, according to a taskforce.

Philip Rycroft, independent North Sea Transition Taskforce chair, made the remarks less than a week after Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) argued the basin could produce around half of the UK’s oil and gas needs if the Labour government ditched its opposition to new projects in British waters.

Accepting the government line as a “political decision,” Mr Rycroft argued it was “not an economic one,” insisting it “makes absolute sense to take what you can from the North Sea” rather than import.