Starmer: Oil and gas in energy mix for decades to come

The Labour leader said he would not let the oil and gas industries become a "repeat" of the coal mines, where they withered and no plans were made for the future.

Answering questions at the GMB union's conference in Brighton, Sir Keir Starmer said oil and gas would be around for "decades to come", up to the 2050s.On Monday, GMB general secretary Gary Smith criticised Labour's plan to ban new oil and gas extraction licences in the North Sea.

Sir Keir said there were hundreds of thousands of jobs in renewable energy, including 50,000 in Scotland, and that Britain must "seize the opportunity".

Oil and gas ban would be mistake, union boss says