THE British government has “failed workers in Scotland” through its lack of support for industry, according to First Minister John Swinney.

The SNP leader made the remarks ahead of a meeting of devolved leaders with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the British and Irish Council in Wales today.

He condemned the Labour government’s decision not to intervene in ExxonMobil’s plan to close the Mossmorran ethylene plant in Fife next year at the cost of 400 jobs and over the closure of Scotland’s last oil refinery, at Grangemouth, earlier this year.

Mr Swinney said: “This Labour UK government has failed workers in Scotland — and I will be setting out to Keir Starmer the urgent necessity for his government to provide support for Scottish industry.

“In Grangemouth, in Mossmorran and right across the north-east of Scotland, workers are facing job losses and families are struggling to make ends meet, all while this Labour government fails to provide the necessary support.

“People in Scotland will rightly be asking why the workforces at Grangemouth and Mossmorran did not see the same interventions from the UK government as industrial towns south of the border, like Scunthorpe.

“So far in this Labour government, Scotland has been treated as an afterthought.”

Backing North Sea oil and gas bosses’ claim that the government’s windfall tax on their profits is destroying 1,000 jobs a month, Mr Swinney added: “This economic vandalism is continuing today, with the UK government’s tax grab on Scotland’s energy costing 100 jobs this week alone and that will sadly continue to rise.”

Returning to the constitutional theme, he continued: “Keir Starmer promised that Scotland would be at the heart of the Labour government, but he has done little to support our key industries.

“We cannot afford to leave crucial decisions about our economy in the hands of a UK government that does not seem willing to support our industry. We need the fresh start of independence to unlock Scotland’s true potential.”

Speaking to BBC Scotland on Thursday, Sir Keir said his government had “looked very carefully” at the windfall tax, but he added: “But of course, as the name makes perfectly clear, that’s a tax that only kicks in in relation to a particular levels of profit, so it only kicks in at a particular level that’s the trigger for it.”