Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said a decision on whether to give the go-ahead to two oil and gas fields will be made “shortly”.

Parties at Westminster are calling for Burnham to approve plans for Rosebank, an oil field off Shetland, and gas field Jackdaw, east of Aberdeen.

The controversial fields have been the subject of years of debates, legal wrangling and public consultations, with arguments from both industry bodies and environmentalists being weighed up by the UK government.

Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch urged Burnham “to stop faffing about” when it comes to the North Sea drilling.

She said: “In July, he said he would approve the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields in the North Sea. What’s he waiting for?

“If he’d approved them back then, we would have British gas warming British homes this winter.

“All of the gas from Jackdaw goes onto the British grid, so will we now stop faffing about and approve Rosebank and Jackdaw?”

Jackdaw, which is about 150 miles (241.4km) east of Aberdeen, is a gas field which its operators say could be connected to the UK network within months.

Rosebank, about 80 miles (128.7km) north-west of Shetland, is Britain’s largest untapped oil field, which would also produce some gas.

The prime minister responded: “She asked me what I’m waiting for – I’ve had to wait for the government process, which was struck down by the courts under the Conservative government, to be fixed because they messed it up, and we inherited that situation.

“So I will take a pragmatic approach on oil and gas, we will set out our decisions shortly.”

Licences for the fields were granted by the Conservative UK government in 2022 and 2023, which sparked legal challenges from environmental groups.

The Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled last year that Rosebank and Jackdaw had been unlawfully approved because the government had failed to take into account the climate impact of burning extracted oil and gas from the sites.

Environmentalists insist more drilling would be unconscionable, and hamper efforts to cut planet-warming carbon emissions as deadly heatwaves and extreme weather affect people across the globe.

They also claim starting production would not protect energy security and transitioning sooner to greener technologies would be better for supporting jobs.

Industry bodies argue starting production at Rosebank and Jackdaw will provide jobs and improve the UK’s energy security as overseas conflicts threaten supply.

Burnham has previously left open the possibility of granting approval to Jackdaw and Rosebank.

However he has said he will stick to Labour’s promise not to issue new oil and gas licences while honouring existing ones.

It is not yet known when the government will announce its decision.