LABOUR MPs have joined 60 other cross-party parliamentarians in Britain and Ireland to oppose plans to exploit the 300 million barrel Rosebank oil field.

Campaigners have long argued against the field on climate grounds, but humanitarian arguments also came to the fore after it emerged that through its majority stake in Ithaca Energy, the development could net £200m for Israeli conglomerate Delek Group, a firm flagged by the UN for human rights violations in Palestine.

A licence to exploit it had been granted by the last Tory government only to be struck down in court because the lifetime emissions it could generate, estimated at 250 million tonnes of CO2 — 70 per cent of the UK’s annual total — had not been considered.

Elected on a manifesto pledge not to issue any new licences, the decision now lies with the Labour government. 

MP for Norwich South, Clive Lewis, is one of 19 Labour MPs, including Diane Abbott and Brian Leishman, to sign the pledge publicly opposing Rosebank.

He argued it was an opportunity to “show that a Labour government will stand by the promises we made to the country,” adding: “We must stand our ground against Trump, Reform and their fossil fuel paymasters.

“Approving an enormous new oil field would mean caving in to their anti-climate, anti-renewables agenda that runs completely counter to our values and our long-term interests.”

Also signing the pledge was Jeremy Corbyn, SNP MP Chris Law, Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville-Roberts, Sinn Fein’s Paul Maskey and a host of Lib Dem and Green MPs.

At Holyrood, 11 MSPs signed up, made up of Greens, former SNP Health Secretary Michael Matheson, and four Labour MSPs including Mercedes Villalba, who warned the development could “delay the urgent investment needed to create secure, well-paid jobs for Scotland’s workers.”

She said: “Approving projects like Rosebank will lock us into a toxic dependence on volatile, conflict-ridden fossil fuels.

“In an increasingly uncertain world, where climate action is relegated in favour of fossil politics, the UK and Scotland must lead the way on the clean energy transition.”

A UK government spokesperson said: “Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations, which drives our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good long-term jobs.”