The Scottish Government’s stance on oil and gas is “incoherent”, campaigners have claimed.

First Minister John Swinney told MSPs on Thursday that his Government was against the UK Government’s attempts to ban all new exploration in the North Sea .

Mr Swinney was accused of a “U-turn” on the issue, given Nicola Sturgeon’s administration had supported a presumption against new oil and gas, a position which has softened in the year since.

In a statement on Friday, Dr Rosie Hampton, principal policy adviser at anti-fossil fuel campaigners Uplift, said: “The First Minister’s response is incoherent.

“New licensing will do nothing meaningful for Scotland’s energy security or the industry’s future.

“After 50 years of drilling, the North Sea is an ageing basin in decline, with industry-supported jobs more than halving in the past decade.

“Even the oil and gas lobby accepts that the ban on new exploration licences is right.

“Worse, this debate distracts from Scotland’s real energy problems.

“It won’t cut a…