Andrew Neil has reacted bluntly to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s claims to have secured £1 billion of green investment, labelling it as “untrue”.
The veteran broadcaster cast doubt on the Prime Minister’s green claims (Image: Getty)
Andrew Neil has blasted Sir Keir Starmer’s claims to have secured £1 billion investment in offshore wind.
The Prime Minister made the claims on X this morning as he prepared to deliver a speech at the COP29 summit in Azerbaijan.
He used the speech to pledge that Britain would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035. However, it was his claims of securing a huge green investment package that drew the ire of Andrew Neil.
The veteran journalist reposted the PM’s claims to his 1.2 million followers on X with the blunt four-word comment: “Every sentence is untrue.”
Mr Neil did not expand further on his claims.
The Prime Minister was referring to ScottishPower’s announcement that they had formalised a turbine supply agreement with Siemens Gamesa worth more than £1 billion.
The agreement will see Siemens Gamesa supply 64 offshore wind turbines, which have a rotor diameter nearly as tall as the Shard, for the company’s wind project in the North Sea.
Sir Keir said: “Securing £1 billion investment in offshore wind is a major step forward in our mission to make the UK a clean energy superpower.
“It will fire up our industrial heartlands and break down barriers to growth across the country.
“We will lead the world in industries of the future.”
It is not the first time that Neil has been critical of the Prime Minister, having previously labelled him a “second-grade politician” and skewering him over his first 100 days in power which he called “an unprecedented shambles”.
Addressing world leaders, the PM pledged that Britain would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2 (Image: Getty)
The confirmation of the investment is part of a wider package of cash injection which Labour hope will help to kick start the nation’s economy.
Last month, the government hosted an investment summit in London in which it claimed to have obtained £63 billion of investment which it hopes will create 38,000 jobs in the UK.
The aim of COP29 is to bring together countries to develop a shared plan for curbing global warming.
It is being held in the wake of the re-election of Donald Trump which many believe will see the country move away from many of the green initiatives it has signed up to under the administration of Joe Biden.
Yesterday, US Climate Adviser John Podesta warned: “In January, we’re going to inaugurate a president whose relationship to climate change is captured by the words ‘hoax’ and ‘fossil fuels.”
