Alex Salmond accuses Nicola Sturgeon and Greens of ‘student politics’ over North Sea oil

Alex Salmond has accused Nicola Sturgeon and the Greens of "student politics" amid the ongoing row over North Sea oil and gas as he attacked the co-operation agreement between the two parties.

The former first minister demanded action as opposed to just "sound bites".

Mr Salmond also accused Ms Sturgeon of leaving the issue for Westminster.

The Alba party leader said: “The North Sea has been one of the greatest wasted resources in the history of humanity.

Alex Salmond has waded into the debate over oil.

"Whereas our Norwegian counterparts created a sovereign wealth fund that benefits the common good of the people of Norway, a fund worth over $1 trillion, which grew by £90 billion last year alone, Scotland’s oil wealth has been squandered for decades on obscenities such as illegal wars and weapons of mass destruction.

“'Scotland’s Oil' wasn’t just a slogan that helped create the foundations for modern support for independence. It highlighted the democratic deficit of Scotland’s resources being squandered by Westminster governments we simply do not vote for.

“The climate emergency has rightly taken centre stage as the greatest issue the world must confront.

"As first minister, I first took control of climate change legislation from Westminster and then took the tough and controversial decisions to secure Scotland’s renewables future like building the Beauly-Denny transmission line, and licensing onshore and offshore wind projects like the Aberdeen Demonstrator.

“Abandoning the North Sea would be a betrayal of the workforce and used by opponents to damage the independence case, which for many decades has focussed on developing our country’s huge natural resources.

"Dodging the debate by leaving it to Westminster is even worse, sending out the debilitating message that Scotland is not capable of taking the big decisions for ourselves.

“Securing a just transition requires a lot more than sound bites, but rather a thought-out plan on how to protect the jobs we have, build on the economic benefits we have gained and use the unrivalled expertise of a world energy capital to lead in offshore renewables."

Mr Salmond’s comments come after Ms Sturgeon's Government announced a co-operation agreement with the Greens in Holyrood.

Earlier this month the First Minister wrote to Boris Johnson urging him to “reassess” the development of a new oil field west of Shetland.

Ms Sturgeon’s letter, however, stopped short of full opposition to the Cambo field.

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