CALLS from Trump-backing business leaders for “full-throated support” for new North Sea oil and gas have been slammed as “out of step” by campaigners. 

The call from Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC) comes two years after the SNP Scottish government announced a presumption against any new offshore developments, and just six months after Labour won Westminster power promising no new oil and gas licences.

Echoing US President-elect Donald Trump’s calls for Britain to “open up” the North Sea and ditch “windmills,” AGCC chief executive Russell Borthwick branded the presumption against new production as “disconnected from reality.”

“Donald Trump’s support for the North Sea is welcome, but it should not fall to the president-elect of America to make the case for jobs and investment here,” he said.

“We need full-throated support for our oil and gas sector from both our governments, but particularly here in Scotland where it is such a crucial part of our economy.

“If the alternative is importing oil and gas at a greater carbon cost, then we must favour domestic production.”

Slamming the remarks, environmental campaign group Uplift’s Tessa Khan, said: “Oil and gas companies and their cheerleaders are increasingly out of step with the rest of the business community in Scotland.

“According to a recent poll, two-thirds of Scottish business leaders support ending new oil and gas licensing and over 80 per cent are in favour of the UK government’s wider plans to end the role that fossil fuels play in generating the UK’s energy.

“With our dependence on volatile gas driving energy bills up, it’s little wonder that they see it as benefiting their businesses as well as in the public interest.”

Noting licensing decisions are reserved to the Westminster government, SNP acting cabinet secretary for net zero and energy, Gillian Martin said: “We have consistently said that these should be made on a case-by-case basis and include rigorous assessments of both climate compatibility and energy security.”

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said the headquartering of the new GB Energy in Aberdeen put it “at the forefront of our drive towards net zero and clean energy.”

“Our priority is a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, and we will work with the sector to protect current and future generations of good jobs,” they added.