'Drill, baby, drill': Trump attacks UK again as he blasts ban on North Sea oil drilling as ‘tragic’
The US President said Aberdeen ‘should be booming’ as he attacked the UK's stance on North Sea oil drilling
Donald Trump has blasted the UK as ‘absolutely crazy’ for blocking oil drilling in the North Sea amid Europe’s scramble for energy.
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"Europe is desperate for Energy, and yet the United Kingdom refuses to open North Sea Oil, one of the greatest fields in the World. Tragic!!!," the US president wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.
Mr Trump continued: "Aberdeen should be booming. Norway sells its North Sea Oil to the U.K. at double the price. They are making a fortune.
"U.K., which is better situated on the North Sea for purposes of energy than Norway, should, DRILL, BABY, DRILL!!! It is absolutely crazy that they don’t… AND, NO MORE WINDMILLS!"
His comments come as oil prices continue to climb and countries race to secure oil supplies amid the conflict in the Middle East.
Read more: Cost of crude oil races higher as Donald Trump pledges to block Iranian ports
Read more: North Sea oil prices surge to a record high as Strait of Hormuz crisis continues
Labour came into government promising to remove almost all fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity generation by 2030.
It also banned new North Sea oil and gas licences, although ministers have said oil and gas will remain part of the energy mix for years to come and extraction near existing fields will still be allowed.
Widespread political and environmental opposition remains to new drilling at the Rosebank oil field north west of Shetland and the Jackdaw gas field off Aberdeen.
But industry leaders and energy experts have recently stepped up calls for the Government to back the two projects amid spiking fossil fuel prices driven by the blocking of the key Strait of Hormuz shipping route.
First Minister John Swinney has said he does not agree with Mr Trump’s comments that the UK should “drill, baby, drill” in the North Sea.
Speaking during Channel 4’s Holyrood election debate, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the US president was trying to “dictate to this country when he’s made an absolute mess of it himself on oil and gas”, in a reference to energy spikes after the war in Iran.
Lord Malcolm Offord, Reform UK Scotland leader, said he agreed with Mr Trump. Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said it was “critical” that the UK “harness” its own oil and gas.
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay said new oil and gas exploration was not “compatible with the climate crisis” while Scottish Liberal Democrats leader called the president a “gangster”.
Oil and gas prices have surged higher in the following weeks, with energy production and transporting impacted by attacks on facilities and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
In its latest economic outlook, the IMF said UK economic growth will be weaker than previously expected as a result.
It said UK gross domestic product (GDP) is set to grow by 0.8% in 2026, with this improving to 1.3% in 2027.
However, as recently as January, the IMF had predicted 1.3% growth in 2026 and 1.5% in 2027.
The UK economy grew by 1.4% last year after being recently revised higher by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The downgrade to the 2026 forecast is the largest of the G7 group of the world’s richest economies, with the IMF indicating that weak UK growth late last year was also to blame.