Facts
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions that there are “200,000 people employed in Scotland’s North Sea oil and gas industry.”
Offshore oil and gas in Scotland supported 93,600 jobs, according to a 2023 report by Offshore Energies UK.
The report went on to say “domestic oil and gas activity supported around 220,000 jobs in the UK last year”. 133,000 being direct and indirects jobs in oil and gas and 86,000 being in other industries – for example, hospitality – that are “only viable because of the benefits of the oil and gas sector.”
On 11 December 2023 Rishi Sunak corrected the record after he was approached by Full Fact. The Prime Minister corrected his statement to say “200,000 people employed in the UK’s North sea oil and gas industry.”
Verdict
Rishi Sunak was misleading the House of Commons, but deserves credit for returning to the Commons and correcting his false statement.
We emailed Rishi Sunak’s office and Downing Street offering them the chance to respond. The email was received, but no reply.