Labour MPs have called on the Government to reject the Rosebank oil field, saying approval would be incompatible with the UK’s climate commitments. About a dozen Labour MPs raised concerns about the project during a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament on Wednesday, in a sign of the division inside the party as a decision looms.

The debate was organised by Green MP Carla Denyer. Abtisam Mohamed, the Labour MP for Sheffield Central, told MPs that Rosebank “fails on every test”. Former frontbencher Richard Burgon said: “Rosebank is not compatible with our climate targets – it’s dangerous to pretend otherwise.”

Backbench letter gathers support

Separately, some Labour backbenchers have organised a letter opposing Rosebank, intended for Prime Minister Andy Burnham but not yet sent. More than 60 of Labour’s roughly 400 MPs are understood to have indicated their support. One signatory said approving the field “would not create new jobs, would bring minimal money into the Treasury and be bad for the climate”.

Mr Burnham said on Wednesday that a decision would be “taken in due course”. Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh has stressed that the affordability of energy bills is her overriding objective. The Government has always insisted that Rosebank is a quasi-judicial decision, formally resting with the Energy Secretary alone.

A test for the Government

Rosebank, off the north-west coast of Shetland, is the largest undeveloped oil discovery in British waters. There is a growing expectation among senior Labour figures that drilling will be given the go-ahead, and Treasury forecasts are reported to assume approval. But unions including Unite and the GMB have urged ministers to approve the field to protect jobs, while environmental campaigners and a large group of backbenchers warn that doing so would damage Labour’s green credentials.