Scotland’s First Minister accused of ‘swithering’ over new gas field drilling

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Party co-leader Gillian Mackay also hit out at the UK government for approving drilling at Jackdaw in her keynote speech at the party’s conference in Inverness on Saturday.

With the decision on the much bigger Rosebank still to be announced, Ms Mackay urged the SNP leader to oppose it.

She said: “After years of swithering, the SNP seem to be happy with Jackdaw too — or maybe not: they don’t seem to have made up their minds.

“They’ve welcomed the ‘certainty’ of [Prime Minister Andy] Burnham’s decision but don’t seem to be able to find any certainty about whether they agree with it or not.”

Mr Swinney has previously said any new oil and gas field should pass a “climate compatibility test” and the UK government’s decision to approve Jackdaw would provide certainty to workers.

With energy reserved to Westminster, Ms Mackay urged the PM not to let the “disastrous” Rosebank project, the biggest untapped field in the North Sea, go ahead.

“The SNP need to decide what they think about Rosebank too,” she said.

“Are they going to turn their back on Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy, of a more responsible approach to oil and gas that followed the climate science?”

The Scottish government said: “The UK government must make decisions on North Sea oil and gas projects on a case-by-case basis, with climate compatibility and energy security as key considerations.

“It is absolutely critical that if any new production goes ahead, then the economic benefits should be felt in Scotland rather than flowing to the Treasury.”

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