Andy Burnham is looking to calm “genuine anger” in Washington ahead of a key decision about the future of North Sea oil and gas.
Sources in the US suggested the appointment of Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary has caused “genuine anger” within the administration, after he clashed with Donald Trump over Net Zero and previously called the President “a racist, misogynistic, self-confessed groper”.
Insiders said President Trump has not forgotten Mr Miliband’s repeated attacks on him and that he would be a “point of friction”, reports The Telegraph.
Mr Miliband met with his US counterpart Marco Rubio at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
It comes as the Prime Minister is looking to “move quickly” to scale up North Sea oil and gas production at the Rosebank and Jackdaw sites, in line with the President’s demands for energy.
A source close to the two sites said: “Once we are past the consultation phase, the ball is in their court. From the sounds of it, there is willingness to move quickly this time around.
“An August approval would allow production to commence by October 1.Everything is constructed, the platform is in place, it’s just a piece of paper standing in the way.”
During his time as Energy Secretary, Mr Miliband had been tipped to approve the Jackdaw gasfield, 150 miles off Aberdeen, which could begin supplying gas to more than a million homes this winter, but remained opposed to Rosebank, which predominantly contains oil reserves.
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Andy Burnham to host first No10 North meeting today
Andy Burnham will host the first ever No10 North meeting today as he declared Whitehall’s resistance to devolution is “over for good”.
He will chair a meeting of the National Economic Council, a Cabinet committee first launched in 2008 to respond to economic challenges.
The panel’s attendees will vary according to No10 North meeting agendas and could include business leaders and trade unions, the Government said.
No10 North is housed at Heron House, near Manchester’s Albert Square, a building which is also home to GCHQ’s Manchester and North West hub.
“For 40 years, power and resources have been sucked into the centre, and too many communities have felt forgotten, without the attention and investment they deserve,” Mr Burnham said.
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