By David Hughes

Copyright standard

Wind energy is an “expensive joke”, Donald Trump said as he urged Sir Keir Starmer to exploit the “great asset” of North Sea oil and gas.

The US president said his “drill, baby, drill” policy had helped bring down American prices.

Prime Minister Sir Keir’s Government has ruled out new oil and gas licences in the North Sea, focusing on renewables and new nuclear power stations to keep the nation’s lights on.

At a joint press conference with Sir Keir in Chequers, Mr Trump said: “We had the worst inflation in the history of our country and we had an expression that I used a lot: drill, baby, drill.

“And as you know, we brought fuel way down. The price is way down. And we don’t do wind because wind is a disaster. It’s a very expensive joke, frankly, and we got our energy prices way down.

“That brought the inflation way down and now we have very little inflation and we have a very, very strong economy.

“So that was very important. Drill, baby, drill. And you have a great asset here… it’s called the North Sea. The North Sea oil is phenomenal.”

Sir Keir told reporters he was “absolutely determined to ensure that the price and cost of energy comes down” for households and businesses.

“The mix will include oil and gas for many years to come from the North Sea. We have been clear about that for some time, but we also need to mix that with renewables. And it’s the mix that’s really important.

“And the approach I’ve taken on this is the same approach that I say to many other things: a pragmatic approach.”