Speaker vents at Labour minister for running off to Aberdeen to unveil Jackdaw drilling on TV – leaving her deputy to face angry MPs

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh was criticised by Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle after the Government announced approval for North Sea drilling at the Jackdaw gas field to the media before informing MPs. Fahnbulleh was in Aberdeen giving television interviews, leaving her deputy, Michael Shanks, to answer questions in Parliament. Hoyle said the House had been denied the chance to scrutinise the decision properly.

The field was approved by the previous Conservative government in 2022, but a Greenpeace legal challenge delayed development and left Labour to decide whether it should proceed. The Government says Jackdaw could raise domestic gas production by about 6 per cent at its peak, safeguard hundreds of jobs and deliver an estimated £2.9 billion economic boost. Fahnbulleh said domestic gas would be preferable to imports, while acknowledging the project would contribute to climate change and would not reduce gas prices; ministers say revenues will help fund low-carbon projects.