Labour approves Jackdaw gas field after months of speculation

The Government has approved new gas drilling at the Jackdaw site after months of speculation.

The site, off the coast of Aberdeen, is one of two North Sea projects - alongside the Rosebank oil field - that have hung over Labour after the previous Tory Government was halted due to a legal challenge.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said he will "take a pragmatic approach when it comes to the North Sea" since coming to power in the summer.

The 2024 manifesto committed to issuing no new oil and gas licences, but proponents of Jackdaw and Rosebank within the party have argued that neither are new fossil fuel fields as they were previously approved.

Donald Trump has been a major advocate of North Sea drilling, having claimed the UK was "sitting on top of gold" and listed it as one of the two major issues - alongside migration - that Britain was facing

Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has said a decision on Rosebank, the largest untapped oil field in the North Sea, will take "a bit longer", and will not be made alongside one on Jackdaw.

Andrew Bowie, the Shadow Energy Secretary, said the Jackdaw decision "should be the start, not the end".

He added: "Labour must approve Rosebank, end the ban on licences, and scrap the Energy Profits Levy. That is what a Conservative Government would do, and it is what this Prime Minister should do if he wants anyone to believe he is serious."

FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY…

Government plans crackdown on risky Brazilian butt lifts

The Government has planned a crackdown on "cosmetic cowboys" performing dangerous procedures, including vampire facials, chemical peels and liquid Brazilian butt lifts (BBLs).

Ministers said the changes would shield Britons from treatments that "can go badly wrong".

A BBL is a non-surgical cosmetic procedure where dermal fillers are injected into the buttocks to alter their size or shape.

But under the new rules, treatments that involve injecting fillers anywhere other than the face would only be able to be performed by qualified medics.

Other high-risk treatments such as deep chemical peels and vampire facials - which use microneedling to inject platelets drawn from a patient’s own blood back into the face - would be restricted to doctors, dentists, some nurses, midwives and pharmacists.

Health Minister Karin Smyth said: "If you're planning to undergo a major cosmetic procedure, you deserve to know you're in safe hands – not risking your life with a rogue operator."

READ THE FULL STORY HERE