Trump attacks Starmer for destroying North Sea ‘treasure chest’ – by Emma Taggart for the Telegraph – 29.07.25
- Michael Julien
- Jul 29
- 2 min read
President accuses Labour of driving away energy companies with barrage of taxes
Donald Trump held an hour-long press conference with Sir Keir Starmer at his Turnberry golf resort on Monday
Donald Trump has launched a fresh attack on Sir Keir Starmer’s North Sea shutdown as he said Britain was wasting a “treasure chest” of oil and gas.
The US president accused the Labour Government of driving away energy companies with a barrage of high taxes, which is piling pressure on households in the form of inflated energy costs.
Writing on Truth Social on Tuesday morning, Mr Trump said:
His criticism comes just a day after Mr Trump held an hour-long press conference with Sir Keir at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.
During the meeting, he told the Prime Minister to cut taxes and stamp out illegal immigration if he is to beat Nigel Farage at the next election.
It comes after energy companies in the North Sea have been hampered by the Government’s decision to increase the oil and gas windfall tax from 75pc to 78pc last year, while also extending the levy for an extra year to 2030.
This has been compounded by Ed Miliband’s decision to ban all new drilling in the North Sea, as the Energy Secretary seeks to prioritise renewables to help Britain achieve net zero.
It is not the first time that Mr Trump has urged the UK to drill more oil.
Earlier this month, he called on Sir Keir to “get rid of the windmills” in Scotland and focus on extracting more from the North Sea instead.
David Whitehouse, the chief executive of the Offshore Energies UK lobby group, said in a letter to the Prime Minister last week that the industry was “asking for a pragmatic conversation about the future of the North Sea which recognises and prioritises home-grown energy”.
“The outcomes of consultations on licensing, future taxes and the wider North Sea are of national importance,” Mr Whitehouse added.
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