A firm founded by Rishi Sunak’s father-in-law signed a billion-dollar deal with BP two months before the prime minister opened hundreds of new licences for oil and gas extraction in the North Sea.
In May, the Times of India reported that Infosys bagged a huge deal from the global energy company which is thought to be the second-largest in the history of the firm.
The Indian IT company is owned by the prime minister’s wife’s family although Sunak has insisted the matter is of “no legitimate public interest”.
It has since come to light that the IT giant has been involved in £172 million worth of public sector contracts in the UK, and even the most innocent bystanders would admit that the current drive to increase oil and gas exploration in the North Sea is more than convenient.
What’s more, it is made even more convenient by the fact that one of Infosys’ other major clients is Shell, whose CEO joined Rishi Sunak’s new business council two weeks ago and promised a “candid collaboration” with his government.
Sunak has insisted granting new oil and gas licences for the UK was “entirely consistent” with the UK commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The PM said even then the UK would still need oil and gas for 25 per cent of its energy needs, with the PM saying he was seeking to “power Britain from Britain” rather than the UK “relying on foreign dictators” for its energy supplies.
Speaking about the need for oil and gas, the Prime Minister said: “If we’re going to need it, far better to have it here at home rather than shipping it here from half way around the world with two, three, four times, the amount of carbon emissions versus the oil and gas we have here at home.
“So, it is entirely consistent with our plans to get to net zero.”
But doubts have even been raised about those claims which are expertly set out by Ciaran Jenkins here:
Related: Tory MP savages Sunak’s decision to green-light oil and gas drilling in North Sea