A LABOUR minister has been accused of telling “fibs” after saying GB Energy was “never meant” to employ 1000 people in Aberdeen.
Martin McCluskey said the UK Government was aiming to employ 300 direct employees at its headquarters.
The SNP have described the remark as “shameful” and accused Labour of breaking its promises.
GB Energy chairman Jürgen Maier told MPs after the 2024 election that GB Energy could create more than 1000 more jobs at the HQ in the north east, although he said the target could take decades to hit.
He later said the publicly-owned company would only create “200 or 300 jobs in Aberdeen by 2031”.
Asked about the 1000 jobs figure, McCluskey, minister of energy and jobs, told Times Radio the UK Government was aiming “towards about 300 direct employees” before adding “but it was never meant to be direct employees”.
Jack Middleton, SNP MSP for Aberdeen Central, said: “Never mind creating 1000 jobs in Aberdeen, the Labour Party is destroying 1000 energy jobs a month through their hated tax on Scotland’s energy.
“This is shameful stuff because not only have the Labour Party broken their 1000 jobs promise, they actually committed to 70,000 jobs meanwhile energy bills are set to be £1000 higher than they pledged too.
“No wonder Martin McCluskey is telling fibs. His Government shut down Grangemouth and is ruining Scotland’s premier offshore industry.
“It’s no wonder people in energy-rich Scotland are concluding we need a fresh start with independence to put Scotland’s energy in Scotland’s hands.”
It comes after the SNP warned Scotland would only receive "pocket change" from a new GB Energy fund aimed to help communities set up their own green energy supplies.
A total of £30 million was allocated for the first wave of a new fund from publicly owned GB Energy.
The fund aims to support more than 1000 local and community-led clean energy projects across the UK.
Yet just 6% of this cash (£1.8m) has been allocated to Scotland, with the SNP branding the move a "shameful token gesture".
