By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-06-14 13:32:19 | Updated at 2026-06-14 16:01:17
2 hours ago
Former armed forces minister Al Carns has issued an attack on Energy Secretary Ed Miliband over Net Zero planning and funding.
Mr Carns, who resigned from the frontbench on Thursday, suggested he would be in support of greater drilling in the North Sea to enhance Britain's energy security.
Writing in The Telegraph, the MP for Selly Oak said energy was "not an environmental issue, but a security one".
He continued: "Britain imports over 40 per cent of its energy: our energy policy is designed for a different time.
"North Sea oil and gas, small modular reactors, energy storage and, of course, renewables, are all options that would reduce our exposure.
"A serious country would be using all of them. We are not. That is a choice, and we are paying for it."
His use of "we are not" and "that is a choice" point to indirect criticism of Mr Miliband's Net Zero policies, where his Department of Energy Security and Net Zero have resisted calls to grant more licences for gas and oil exploration in the North Sea.
The Labour Government introduced a temporary ban on new drilling licences in the North Sea last year in the name of Net Zero, a move led by Mr Miliband.
The Labour MP joined the Royal Marines at the age of 19 eventually climbing the ranks to become a colonel in 2021
GB NEWS
The Government's ability in securing the UK's energy has come under fierce scrutiny after the price of global oil soared when the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed by Iran in response to military aggression from the US and Israel.
The global price shock meant British motorists were seeing petrol and diesel prices rising to as much as an additional 40p per litre.
Mr Carns said "the British Government still behaves as though the world of 2026 is the world of 2010".
Consequently, Sir Keir's Government has been under increasing pressure to enable gas and oil exploration companies to drill in the North Sea, including from United States President Donald Trump.
Ed Miliband has resisted calls to grant more oil and gas drilling licences
GETTY
The former frontbencher expressed his concern over the UK's overreliance on energy supply chains to power the nation, referencing how Britain "imports over 40 per cent of its energy".
He said: "We rely on supply chains we do not control. The critical minerals that underpin advanced technology pass through countries whose interests do not always align with our own."
This sentiment was reflected by US-based energy strategist Christopher Johnson, who said the UK's Net Zero policies risk playing into China's hands.
The energy guru warned simply going down “the renewables route” would likely create a further overreliance on China and possibly greater fracturing of the “special relationship” between the UK and the US, which could lead to “geopolitical disasters… far bigger than just the Iran situation”.
He said, speaking to GB News: "If you go just the renewables route, you're going to become further intertwined with the Chinese economy and less intertwined with ours, and that leads to geopolitical disasters in the future far bigger than just the Iran situation."
The former colonel also referenced the long-awaited Defence Investment Plan (Dip), saying the unpublished proposal is "inadequate to deal with the threat we face".
He continued to point the finger at the Treasury for the plan's "inadequate" funding, accusing Rachel Reeves' department of treating "defence as a cost to be contained".
He said: "The Defence Investment Plan is inadequate to deal with the threat we face. That figure was not set by the threat, but by the Treasury, which treats defence as a cost to be contained."
The plan, which became the focus of PMQs this week, was due to be published in Autumn last year.
However, it is yet to be released, with Sir Keir Starmer saying on Wednesday it will be published ahead of a Nato summit in "just a few weeks' time".
The former colonel, who was awarded the Military Cross in 2011, did not rule out launching a leadership contest earlier this week in an interview with GB News's Political Editor Christopher Hope.
When questioned about standing if a leadership contest commences, he said: "Throughout my career, I've always been one of service.
"I will always serve the country first and foremost, but throughout my career I've always had a saying that always run to the sound of gunfire, because often where the crisis needs the best people to sort it out.
"So, I'll always try and help where I can."
