UK approves Jackdaw gas field as Speaker rebukes ministers for briefing media first

The British government has approved the Jackdaw gas field in the North Sea, ending a long legal and political fight over the project. Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the House of Commons on Wednesday that it would “release gas into British homes and British industries, starting in the next few weeks”.

The original consent, granted in 2022 under the Conservatives, was quashed by the courts because it had not considered the emissions from burning the gas the field would produce. Energy minister Michael Shanks told MPs the Energy Secretary had now looked at that question, and that “her assessment is that the decision does not prevent the UK from meeting legally binding limits on carbon emissions”. The North Sea Transition Authority has granted consent for production.

“Stop faffing about”

The decision dominated Prime Minister’s Questions. “Last week I asked the Prime Minister to stop faffing about, so can I thank him for finally approving the Jackdaw gasfield?” said Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader. She said Britain “cannot be a serious player on the world stage” if ministers dithered for two and a half years over one licence, and argued that oil and gas Britain did not produce would be bought from Russia.

Burnham replied: “We have made a decision that the right hon. Lady’s Government messed up.” He said revenue from the field would help pay for renewables and that he had asked the Chancellor and the Energy Secretary to look at removing standing charges on gas bills.

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey used his questions to press for Britain to rejoin the European single market. Burnham pointed to a UK-EU summit on 20 November as “an opportunity to take an important step back to secure growth in the British economy”.

Speaker’s anger

The Commons Speaker rebuked ministers because the decision had been briefed to journalists before Parliament. “It is shameful that this announcement was not made to the House first,” he said, adding that it was “an immense discourtesy to the House that the Secretary of State is not here to make the statement”.

How much gas

Shanks said Jackdaw would provide about 5% of UK gas production, 6% at its peak, with 27 direct jobs and 273 existing jobs safeguarded. He conceded the decision would not lower electricity bills. The shadow energy secretary, Andrew Bowie, said the field could heat 1.4 million homes and asked ministers to approve the Rosebank field next; Shanks said Rosebank was a separate process. The Green Party’s Ellie Chowns accused the government of “pouring more fuel on the fire of climate breakdown”.