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Consultations on the futures of Jackdaw and Rosebank closed this month

Kemi Badenoch has accused the Government of delaying decisions on two controversial oil and gas fields because “their heart’s not really in it”.

Had work at the North Sea's Jackdaw already been approved it could have supplied British homes this Christmas, she said.

Consultations on the futures of Jackdaw, a giant gas field, and Rosebank, Britain’s largest untapped oil field, closed this month.

Work was stopped at both after legal challenges on climate grounds. Decisions on their futures are seen as a key environmental test for Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

Supporters of drilling say that the fields will boost Britain's energy security and economy. They argue that domestically sourced fuel can be more climate-friendly than imports.

But climate campaigners say the ban on drilling should continue because of the environmental impact.

Mrs Badenoch said it was "absolutely essential" that a decision is made as soon as possible.

Speaking during a visit to a farm in East Lothian, she said: “If this decision had been made earlier in the summer, we could have had gas from Jackdaw in people’s homes by this winter, by Christmas.

“All of the gas that’s drilled in the North Sea is used in this country and Labour has been kicking this decision into the long grass because their heart’s not really in it.

“They don’t know how to actually make energy cheaper, they don’t know how to get genuine tax revenue, and all they’re doing is increasing taxes, destroying businesses.

“A common sense approach is to make sure that we drill our own oil and gas in the North Sea, get the tax revenue from that instead of importing oil and gas from countries that drill it in a very dirty way, which is actually increasing carbon emissions.”

The comments come as a letter organised by environmental charity Uplift calling on the Prime Minister to reject Rosebank was signed by 90 MPs and MSPs.

Mrs Badenoch also hit out at GB Energy during her visit, following reports only a third of the publicly-owned firm’s workforce live in Scotland.

Ahead of the landslide win in 2024, Labour suggested around 1,000 people could be employed by GB Energy, which is headquartered in Aberdeen, but 46 of the 132 current employees live elsewhere in the UK, according to the Times.

“It’s another gimmick which Labour brought about,” the Tory leader said.

“They think that if you just put a sign on a building, that creates jobs. It’s not Government that creates jobs, it is business that creates jobs.

“Government needs to create the conditions, business is the one that creates the jobs and the growth.

“I’m not surprised that the gimmick which they used to try and get votes in Scotland has already failed, it just shows that they don’t have a plan.

“They can’t think ahead and, quite frankly, I don’t think they know what they’re doing.”

Mrs Badenoch said her party has a “five-point economic plan that’s going to be great for Scotland”.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “The Tories said one thing while in power and now say the opposite.

“They didn’t act on the plans for 10 nuclear plants left by the previous Labour government, they had no plan for jobs in the North Sea, and they’ve tried to block new wind farms.

“The shadow energy secretary once pushed for more clean energy but would now rather leave us stuck on the rollercoaster of fossil fuels. The Conservatives don’t have a clue. They failed and Labour is clearing up their mess.”