Green ministers should be ‘clear’ who they speak for

Green ministers must be" very clear" whether they are speaking for the Scottish Government or for themselves, the boss of the main oil and gas trade body has said.

Deirdre Michie, chief executive of Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), formerly Oil and Gas UK, said the current situation causes "confusion".

It came as OEUK warned the UK will have to import the vast majority of its oil and gas from overseas unless billions of pounds are invested in the North Sea.

Ms Mic hies aid the controversialcambo oilfield off shetland "and all other new projects like that" should go ahead.

The Greens, who have a power sharing agreement with the SNP, are outspoken in their opposition to new oil and gas drilling.

Patrick Harvie, the party’s coleader and a Scottish Government minister, was previously criticised after he said it was "only the hard right who continue to deny the reality that" continued oil and gas extraction is "simply not compatible" with tackling climate change.

Asked if she worried about the influence of the Greens in government, Ms Michie said: "I think it' s important that they' re very clear when they are speakingfor the scottish government and when they're speaking for themselves. And I think that does cause confusion.

"So when they're speaking for the Scottish Government, we need to be clear what they're saying, why they're saying it.

"But again, as Scottish Government ministers I'd like to think that they do understand the positive contribution that the sector is making, and the positive contribution that the sector is trying to drive."