CAMPAIGNERS have welcomed new Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh with a warning that approving new oil and gas drilling would break the manifesto she was elected on.

The message came loud and clear from activists as they rallied outside the Department for Energy, Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) today amid reports Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Ms Fahnbulleh are poised to approve drilling in what is Britain’s largest untapped oil and gas field.

The last Tory government had green-lit the Norwegian state-owned Equinor and Ithaca Energy — owned by the Delek Group, a key supplier to the Israeli armed forces — to begin drilling in the field to the west of Shetland back in 2023, only for the licence to be withdrawn after a successful legal challenge by Greenpeace and Uplift on the grounds that lifetime emissions had not been considered.

Despite promising no new drilling, Labour has mulled over a decision on the reapplication since taking office in 2024, but Fossil Free London’s director Robin Wells branded rumours Mr Burnham would say “yes” as a “massive slap in the face.

“It’s pointless to have a manifesto commitment to stop oil and gas and then say, ‘we’re just going to approve the largest new fields’,” she said.

“It doesn’t make any sense. It’s really concerning. Andy Burnham’s obviously been put under a huge amount of pressure, very, very quickly, to announce this policy.”

Ms Wells added: “We know that no living person in the UK has ever before experienced a June like the one we saw this year.

“It could not be giving us more of a message that we need to stop the cause of this problem, which is oil and gas. 

“A responsible, pragmatic, security-driven government should be saying, ‘for our peace, for our wellbeing, and for our health, we have to stop the oil corporations making billions off the backs of our suffering’.”

The DESNZ said: “The North Sea remains a vital national asset, supporting jobs, growth and the UK’s energy security.

“We are clear that oil and gas will continue to play an important role in our energy system for decades to come, alongside renewables, nuclear and other low-carbon technologies.

“Our focus is on providing stability and ensuring the North Sea continues to make a strong contribution to the UK’s economy and energy security.”