John Swinney has been branded ‘pathetic’ after repeatedly refusing to say whether he supports the Rosebank oilfield.

The First Minister came under fire for showing a ‘lack of backbone’ on the issue of North Sea drilling by refusing to give a straight answer on whether he supports or opposes the development after being asked seven times.

He was pressed for a clear answer five times by the Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay, while the leaders of Scottish Labour and the Scottish Greens also asked him without getting a clear response.

It comes despite the SNP’s conference earlier this month passing a motion which supported domestic production over foreign imports.

Mr Findlay said: ‘John Swinney’s pathetic performance confirmed his lack of backbone when it comes to backing Scotland’s oil and gas sector.

‘Saying whether he wants Rosebank to go ahead should be straightforward. But on five separate occasions John Swinney couldn’t give a simple yes or no answer.

‘Scotland’s oil and gas workers, who’ve either lost or fear for their jobs, will see this SNP betrayal exactly for what it is. Swinney regularly spouts his opinion on issues that are outwith his remit - from Gaza to Russia to Europe. But he refuses to say if he backs new drilling in the North Sea.

‘He’s clearly too terrified of the extremist Greens and of Nicola Sturgeon to give his view. Giving Rosebank the green light is the right thing to do for jobs, energy security and Scotland’s economy but all we got was fence-sitting and waffle from the First Minister.’

Prime Minister Andy Burnham and several Labour government ministers have repeatedly refused to give their own view on whether Rosebank should get the go-ahead because they say this is a quasi-judicial process and the confirmation on whether it is approved must come from the Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh.

At First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra said he directly told the Energy Secretary and Chancellor John Healey that he supports Rosebank during talks in London last week, and asked: ‘Does the First Minister?’

Mr Swinney said: ‘The process of consideration of the Rosebank application has got to be applied by the quasi-judicial process that the Prime Minister talked about.’

He said the implications of granting consent should compare the carbon emissions of Rosebank with the alternative importation of supplies, and added: ‘That is the legal test that has got to be satisfied.’

Mr Swinney was pressed on the issue again by Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer, who said Rosebank would be ‘far more devastating’ than Jackdaw.

He said: ‘The First Minister has indicated that he could support that if it passed some kind of climate compatibility test.

‘Is the First Minister genuinely suggesting that a monumental oil field can pass a climate test worth the paper it was written on?’

Mr Swinney said: ‘The Government is committed to its agenda on climate action and on the legally binding targets that we have set, which is why I answered Mr Marra’s question in the way I did.

‘Because it is essential that any application that is taken forward for the development of oil and gas resources is able to be done in a fashion that is compatible with the legal obligations that we carry.

‘The issues that Mr Greer raises are issues that must be assessed as part of that process, and must be done comprehensively because we live in a context just now, and all of our energy plans accept this, that for some time to come we will still be using oil and gas and the question for us is whether we utilise resources in our own waters or we import those from other jurisdictions, and that is the purpose of the climate compatibility test.’

Mr Findlay bluntly asked: ‘Should Rosebank get the green light, yes or no?’

The First Minister told him that ‘I answered that question to Michael Marra’, but Mr Findlay said: ‘Oh no you didn’t.

‘We all know that it is a UK Labour Government decision to make but their budget said nothing. So I’m asking John Swinney if John Swinney thinks it should go ahead. Yes or no?’

Mr Swinney again said: ‘I answered that question to Michael Marra.’

Mr Findlay asked a third time, and got the same answer, then said: ‘This is absolute torture. He’s got opinions on Gaza, Israel, Russia, Iran, Europe, but not on the North Sea.’

He then asked again if he supported Rosebank.

The First Minister said the carbon emissions of any site have to be assessed on whether it is compatible with the journey to Net Zero.

He said: ‘I know this is all performative and funny for Mr Findlay, I know it is. But some of us take our responsibilities in this place seriously, unlike Mr Findlay.’

Mr Findlay said: ‘I didn’t hear a yes or a no, which is all I asked him. There’s 1,000 Scottish jobs being lost every month in the North Sea, so for the sake of those workers why can’t Swinney get off the fence, show a bit of backbone. Does he support Rosebank, yes or no?’

Mr Marra said: ‘John Swinney was repeatedly asked to make his stance on Rosebank clear – but repeatedly refused to give a straight answer.

‘I have been clear that Rosebank is crucial for the Scottish economy, for employment, and for public finances.

‘Energy can be the sector that powers growth and secures good work for Scotland for decades to come.

‘I have urged John Swinney to publish his oil and gas strategy, so we can work together and stand up for this industry.

‘Workers and the wider Scottish public deserve a straight answer from John Swinney on Rosebank, not obfuscation.’

Speaking to journalists later, Mr Swinney said: ‘The UK Government’s got to consider all those issues and come to that conclusion. That’s the point I was making in Parliament, that that’s where they got to on Jackdaw, and I accept and support that conclusion.’