Labour civil war over Rosebank oil field as Harriet Harman says ministers must sign off the North Sea drilling project

Labour's splits over North Sea oil and gas have deepened after party grandee Harriet Harman called on ministers to approve the Rosebank field.

Baroness Harman, a former deputy Labour leader, urged the Government to give the go-ahead to the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea.

A decision on Rosebank, which lies west of Shetland, is still pending despite the Government having approved the Jackdaw gas field this week.

The decision to back Jackdaw has been sharply criticised by some Labour MPs and environmentalists who want to accelerate Britain's shift away from fossil fuels.

There is likely to be an even bigger row within Labour's ranks if Rosebank is approved, as the oil field is predicted to produce many more tonnes of carbon emissions - if it is also given the go-ahead - than Jackdaw.

Ed Miliband, the former energy secretary who is now Foreign Secretary, previously claimed approval of Rosebank would amount to 'climate vandalism'. 

But Baroness Harman - who is the Government's special envoy for women and girls - urged ministers to 'make the green argument' for supporting Rosebank.

She said the proceeds from oil production could be used to 'turbocharge' the UK's switch to renewable energy sources.

Asked whether ministers are likely to approve Rosebank, Baroness Harman told a Sky News podcast: 'Well, my guess is they will approve it.

'I think they should approve it, and I think they should strongly make the green argument for doing it by investing the proceeds into turbocharging our homegrown renewable energy.'

Alongside its approval of Jackdaw, the Government announced the creation of a new energy wealth fund this week.

Tax revenues from North Sea oil and gas will be funnelled into the fund, backed with an initial £2billion, which will be used to invest in renewable and low carbon projects.

Baroness Harman said the creation of the fund 'points to where we might go with Rosebank'.

'They're saying some of the benefits of doing this... some of the money streams are going to go into a fund which is going to help us with our race to do more investment so that we can get to Net Zero by 2050,' she added.

The Labour peer claimed there would be a 'really strong green argument' for Rosebank if it produces 'a great load of money to be invested into renewables'.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, who replaced Mr Miliband as Energy Secretary in July, yesterday insisted she will make the final decision over whether to approve Rosebank and not the PM.

She addressed reports that suggested Prime Minister Andy Burnham or Chancellor John Healey would ultimately say yes or no to a scheme that could secure thousands of jobs.

'Ultimately only I can make that decision,' Ms Fahnbulleh said. 

It has been reported that the Energy Secretary is leaning towards rejecting the project, but a spokesperson for her Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said this was 'speculation'.