Labour was warned of ‘real and present danger' to oil and gas sector
Mr Flynn, also the MP for Aberdeen South, was speaking after bosses at Harbour Energy blamed 'punitive' Government measures for the decision to axe 250 jobs in Scotland.
The job losses come on top of 350 roles that were cut by the firm in 2023.
Mr Flynn said the latest cuts amount to a quarter of the company's workforce in Aberdeen, where much of the UK oil and gas industry is based.
Stephen Flynn voiced concern the job cuts at Harbour Energy could be 'the start of something that could be quite devastating for Aberdeen and the north east' (James Manning/PA)
The MP said he and 'many others', including the Unite trade union, are now 'very fearful' the job losses at Harbour Energy may be 'the start of something that could be quite devastating for Aberdeen and the north east'.
Mr Flynn told BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: 'Harbour is one of many companies that operate out of Aberdeen, one of many huge companies that work out of Aberdeen and there is a real and present danger, it was something that the Labour Party was warned about prior to the election, that the decisions they were seeking to take in relation to policy both for licensing and taxation in relation to the North Sea sector would lead to catastrophic job losses.'
Scott Barr, managing director of Harbour Energy's UK business, said on Wednesday the job losses were 'due mainly to the Government's ongoing punitive fiscal position and a challenging regulatory environment'.
Mr Flynn pressed Sir Keir Starmer on the issue at Prime Minister's Questions this week, and he told the programme on Thursday: 'If 250 jobs were being lost elsewhere in the UK, perhaps in Keir Starmer's constituency, he would be more interested than he appeared to be yesterday when I asked him about it.'
Mr Flynn, who is due to meet senior directors at the firm on Friday, said as well as the increase the Energy Profits Levy – also known as the windfall tax – changes had been made to the licensing regime when Sir Keir's party came to power.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the job losses were a 'commercial decision' by Harbour Energy (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Labour has been clear on its opposition to new developments in the North Sea, with Mr Flynn saying there has been a 'direct impact upon investment decisions'.
The SNP MP said: 'Everyone knows the North Sea is a depleting asset but the argument is how quickly you seek to shut down the industry and what we are seeking is a clear pattern of direction from the Labour Government in that regard, which is seeking to accelerate that.'
Speaking during a visit to Scotland on Wednesday, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the job losses at Harbour Energy were a 'commercial decision by the business'.
She stressed 'the Energy Profits Levy is being used to properly fund public services', and she insisted oil and gas will have an 'important role' in the UK economy 'for years to come'.
Ms Reeves added: 'It's a commercial decision by one company… but there are many other companies that aren't laying off workers.
'It is important that, with energy companies making record profits after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, that we ask those companies to pay their fair share of tax, especially when ordinary working people saw their energy bills go through the roof.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South Wales Argus
an hour ago
- South Wales Argus
Starmer and Trump call for ‘diplomacy and dialogue' in Israel and Iran conflict
The two leaders spoke on Friday evening, as western nations began a diplomatic flurry to calm the burgeoning conflict, which started with early morning Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear bases. Sir Keir earlier urged his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to de-escalate and work towards a 'diplomatic resolution'. An explosion is seen during a missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel (Tomer Neuberg via AP) David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, meanwhile warned the Middle East is facing a 'moment of grave peril', after he spoke to Iran's foreign minister and called for calm. Earlier calls from the PM, as well as France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz, for restraint appeared fruitless, as a fresh wave of strikes hit Tehran and other targets across Iran on Friday evening. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, vowed revenge, and his country launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in a retaliatory attack. Air raid sirens were sounded across Israel and its citizens were ordered to move into bomb shelters, while plumes of smoke could be seen rising in central Tel Aviv. In London, the Prime Minister convened a Cobra meeting of high level ministers and officials to discuss the situation in the Middle East. Warren Stephens, the US ambassador to the UK, was also seen outside the Cabinet Office in Whitehall after the meeting on Friday afternoon. Sir Keir spoke to US President Donald Trump on Friday evening (Alex Brandon/AP) A Downing Street spokeswoman said Sir Keir and Mr Trump 'discussed the military action in the Middle East overnight and agreed on the importance of diplomacy and dialogue' when they spoke on the phone. She added: 'Updating on his conversations with partners today, the Prime Minister reiterated the UK's grave concerns about Iran's nuclear programmes. 'The leaders looked forward to speaking again at the G7 in Canada next week.' Both the UK and the US have insisted they were not involved in the Israeli strikes and that Israel acted unilaterally. Foreign Secretary Mr Lammy would not say whether the Government had been forewarned of the action. Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the UK told Sky News the first time the her country discussed the strikes with the UK was at midday on Friday. Israeli's Iron Dome air defence system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv, Israel (Leo Correa via AP) She also told the broadcaster: 'The aim is to make sure Iran won't have nuclear capabilities. This is why all our targets are military targets. This is why we're attacking the nuclear sites. 'This is not a plan that was created in one night. This is a plan being created in many years from understanding the levels of danger.' Among the sites hit by Israel's strikes are several of Iran's main nuclear sites, as well as missile factories. Hossein Salami, the leader of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was also reportedly killed in the initial attacks.
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
Starmer and Trump call for ‘diplomacy and dialogue' in Israel and Iran conflict
The two leaders spoke on Friday evening, as western nations began a diplomatic flurry to calm the burgeoning conflict, which started with early morning Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear bases. Sir Keir earlier urged his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to de-escalate and work towards a 'diplomatic resolution'. An explosion is seen during a missile attack in Tel Aviv, Israel (Tomer Neuberg via AP) David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, meanwhile warned the Middle East is facing a 'moment of grave peril', after he spoke to Iran's foreign minister and called for calm. Earlier calls from the PM, as well as France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz, for restraint appeared fruitless, as a fresh wave of strikes hit Tehran and other targets across Iran on Friday evening. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, vowed revenge, and his country launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in a retaliatory attack. Air raid sirens were sounded across Israel and its citizens were ordered to move into bomb shelters, while plumes of smoke could be seen rising in central Tel Aviv. In London, the Prime Minister convened a Cobra meeting of high level ministers and officials to discuss the situation in the Middle East. Warren Stephens, the US ambassador to the UK, was also seen outside the Cabinet Office in Whitehall after the meeting on Friday afternoon. Sir Keir spoke to US President Donald Trump on Friday evening (Alex Brandon/AP) A Downing Street spokeswoman said Sir Keir and Mr Trump 'discussed the military action in the Middle East overnight and agreed on the importance of diplomacy and dialogue' when they spoke on the phone. She added: 'Updating on his conversations with partners today, the Prime Minister reiterated the UK's grave concerns about Iran's nuclear programmes. 'The leaders looked forward to speaking again at the G7 in Canada next week.' Both the UK and the US have insisted they were not involved in the Israeli strikes and that Israel acted unilaterally. Foreign Secretary Mr Lammy would not say whether the Government had been forewarned of the action. Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the UK told Sky News the first time the her country discussed the strikes with the UK was at midday on Friday. Israeli's Iron Dome air defence system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv, Israel (Leo Correa via AP) She also told the broadcaster: 'The aim is to make sure Iran won't have nuclear capabilities. This is why all our targets are military targets. This is why we're attacking the nuclear sites. 'This is not a plan that was created in one night. This is a plan being created in many years from understanding the levels of danger.' Among the sites hit by Israel's strikes are several of Iran's main nuclear sites, as well as missile factories. Hossein Salami, the leader of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was also reportedly killed in the initial attacks.
Powys County Times
an hour ago
- Powys County Times
Starmer and Trump call for ‘diplomacy and dialogue' in Israel and Iran conflict
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and US President Donald Trump have agreed the mounting conflict between Iran and Israel should be resolved by 'diplomacy and dialogue'. The two leaders spoke on Friday evening, as western nations began a diplomatic flurry to calm the burgeoning conflict, which started with early morning Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear bases. Sir Keir earlier urged his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to de-escalate and work towards a 'diplomatic resolution'. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, meanwhile warned the Middle East is facing a 'moment of grave peril', after he spoke to Iran's foreign minister and called for calm. Earlier calls from the PM, as well as France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz, for restraint appeared fruitless, as a fresh wave of strikes hit Tehran and other targets across Iran on Friday evening. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, vowed revenge, and his country launched hundreds of ballistic missiles at Israel in a retaliatory attack. Air raid sirens were sounded across Israel and its citizens were ordered to move into bomb shelters, while plumes of smoke could be seen rising in central Tel Aviv. In London, the Prime Minister convened a Cobra meeting of high level ministers and officials to discuss the situation in the Middle East. Warren Stephens, the US ambassador to the UK, was also seen outside the Cabinet Office in Whitehall after the meeting on Friday afternoon. A Downing Street spokeswoman said Sir Keir and Mr Trump 'discussed the military action in the Middle East overnight and agreed on the importance of diplomacy and dialogue' when they spoke on the phone. She added: 'Updating on his conversations with partners today, the Prime Minister reiterated the UK's grave concerns about Iran's nuclear programmes. 'The leaders looked forward to speaking again at the G7 in Canada next week.' Both the UK and the US have insisted they were not involved in the Israeli strikes and that Israel acted unilaterally. Foreign Secretary Mr Lammy would not say whether the Government had been forewarned of the action. Tzipi Hotovely, Israel's ambassador to the UK told Sky News the first time the her country discussed the strikes with the UK was at midday on Friday. She also told the broadcaster: 'The aim is to make sure Iran won't have nuclear capabilities. This is why all our targets are military targets. This is why we're attacking the nuclear sites. 'This is not a plan that was created in one night. This is a plan being created in many years from understanding the levels of danger.' Among the sites hit by Israel's strikes are several of Iran's main nuclear sites, as well as missile factories.
