Donald Trump warns UK making 'very big mistake' as he wades into North Sea row

Trump's intervention puts him on a collision course with Labour's green energy policies, having already campaigned on a "drill, baby, drill" platform ahead of his historic White House return.

And it comes as oil and gas operators are increasingly abandoning North Sea operations in response to Labour's windfall tax.

US oil and gas producer Apache announced plans to exit the North Sea by 2029, saying the tax made drilling the sea's oil fields "uneconomic".

Rachel Reeves's October Budget had hiked up the windfall tax on North Sea producers from 35 to 38 per cent and extended the levy by a year.

The total tax rate now stands at almost 80 per cent for oil and gas companies.

Several North Sea producers have warned the higher rates could lead to a sharp drop in investments, with some choosing to abandon the basin entirely.

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And despite Britain boasting plentiful North Sea resources - which could make the UK energy-independent as war rages between Russia and Ukraine - the Government is pursuing aggressive policies to reduce North Sea oil and gas production.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has blocked new drilling licences in the North Sea as part of Labour's push to achieve clean power by 2030.

The Government's focus on renewables has already drawn widespread criticism - with even the Labour-backing GMB Union speaking out against the party's net zero drive.

Meanwhile, Reform UK has explicitly backed Trump's stance - the President-elect has dismissed the switch to green energy as a "scam".

Party leader Nigel Farage said: "I agree 100 per cent with Donald Trump," while his deputy Richard Tice warned that "net zero obsession with unreliable wind and solar power is increasing our vulnerability to international markets and prices".

But energy campaigners have strongly opposed Trump's intervention. Caroline Simpson from Warm This Winter said it would "make billpayers' blood boil."

And green group Uplift's executive director Tessa Khan warned that Trump's "ill-informed attacks on the UK's efforts to become a clean energy superpower will not change reality".

Khan added that Trump was "clearly looking after the interests of US oil and gas firms".