OIL WARS?

Not sure where to turn as there’s so many good stories out there. We certainly didn’t want to cover the embarrassing bit of bother Mark Thatcher’s got himself into… so should we go with the announcement yesterday that the “Oil giant BP today posted record profits of $3.94bn (£2.14bn) after fuel prices hit new highs“ or the announcement that fuel poverty in Scotland is due to rise by an estimated 40% after record increases in British Gas prices came into effect last week?

Gas bills are up by 12.4 per cent and electricity bills are to hike 9.4 per cent while the third quarter performance of Britain's biggest listed company came as oil prices rose to an average of almost $50 a barrel. While Scottish Power has announced a ten per cent rise due to come into effect on Friday.

The SSP have responded saying: "Scottish Power and Scottish Gas are clearly exploiting their market dominance to fix prices.

"Privatisation and competition are driving ever more Scots into fuel poverty, making a mockery of the Scottish Executive’s pledge to reduce fuel poverty.

"The case for publicly owned power companies is there for everyone to see. Scotland has a surplus of power and yet prices go up with yet more Scots facing fuel poverty.

"The power companies should be taken back into public ownership and the obscenity of Scots who can’t afford to heat their homes ended."

The situation exposes the rank hypocrisy of the Scottish Executive. The Scottish Household Condition Survey analysis tells us that 738,000 households in Scotland (or 35%) were estimated to be in fuel poverty.

Yet this week patronising pronouncements from the Executive ask householders to turn their heating down to make their emissions targets. This at the same time that evidence grows of collaboration at the highest level with oil mercaneries.

Leading groups campaigning on human rights, development and the environment have called on the Scottish Executive explain why it gave £3m of taxpayers money to an oil company that is the subject of a $2billion court action over human rights abuses in Sudan.

In a joint letter (signed by Amnesty International Scotland, Friends of the Earth Scotland, the World Development Movement Scotland, and the Centre for Human Ecology) sent to First Minister, Jack McConnell, and the Finance minister, Tom McCabe, the groups claim the decision to fund an offshore windfarm project being developed by Talisman Energy reveals serious shortcomings in the Executive's screening process.

Commenting Duncan McLaren, Chief Executive of Friends of the Earth, said:

"This case illustrates why its so important that the Executive carefully screens companies that seek public support. Sudanese villagers evicted from their land must have been appalled to hear that the Scottish Executive was giving public money to Talisman. And if these allegations are proven and billions of dollars in damages awarded, the Executive's failure to screen out such a risky partner could jeopardise the overall viability of the Beatrice project. Ironically such projects could otherwise help us move away from dependence on fossil fuels - and reduce the incentives for the sort of behaviour that Talisman is alleged to have supported in Sudan."

Read the original story: Energy firm in court over ethnic cleansing in Sudan, Herald

The Court action is being handled by law firm Berger & Montague. A case summary is available here.

Meanwhile, while we’re on the subject of oil…it’s been revealed that the US offered to send detainees back to UK … The offer by the Bush administration is at odds with a statement by Tony Blair to parliament that the US was responsible for blocking the return of the Britons, the detainees lawyers and supporters said yesterday. Read Guardian report here.