PM: Thatcher gave us head start on fighting climate change ... by closing the coal mines

BORIS Johnson yesterday said that Margaret Thatcher’s closure of coal mines had given the UK an ‘early start’ in shifting from fossil fuels to green energy.

The Prime Minister, who was visiting an offshore wind farm in Moray during a trip to Scotland, also said there were now ‘massive opportunities’ to increase the use of renewable power.

His visit comes ahead of the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow this autumn, which will put the UK at the forefront of attempts to champion renewables. But Mr Johnson acknowledged that North Sea oil had been a ‘huge part of the UK economy for decades now’ and contracts already signed for work in the industry ‘should not just be ripped up’.

He said: ‘We recognise that there has got to be a smooth and sensible transition. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t massive opportunities to increase the use of green technology.’

And when pressed on whether he would set a deadline for ending fossil fuel extraction, Mr Johnson said: ‘Look at what we’ve done already. We’ve transitioned away from coal in my lifetime. Thanks to Margaret Thatcher, who closed so many coal mines across the country, we had a big early start and we’re now moving rapidly away from coal altogether.’

He acknowledged that tackling climate change under the terms of the Paris climate deal was ‘going to be a difficult thing to achieve’. But added: ‘I’m going to be as ambitious as possible for COP26 in Glasgow. I want the world to recognise the extent of the challenge.’

Mrs Thatcher, pictured, triggered the miners’ strike in 1984 and last night, Mr Johnson’s remarks sparked a backlash from Labour MPs. Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said his comments show a ‘disregard for the communities still scarred by Thatcher’s closure of the mines and failure to deliver good new jobs in their place’.

It came as a former Tory environment secretary warned that winding down the extraction of North Sea oil and gas could set off a backlash akin to the miners’ strike. Dame Caroline Spelman told the Conservative Environment Network that her party could find itself ‘stigmatised for a generation’ in communities which rely on the industry for jobs.

Up to ten million jobs in industries with high carbon emissions will be disrupted by the UK’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050.