Richard Thomson has demanded that Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch apologise to communities in Aberdeen over what he described as a “job killing” tax on Scotland’s energy sector.

The comments come ahead of Badenoch visiting the constituency during the ongoing Aberdeen South by election campaign.

Thomson said the Energy Profits Levy introduced under the previous Conservative Government has caused major damage across the North East energy industry with jobs being lost and investment driven away from the sector.

The SNP claims up to 1,000 jobs a month are currently being lost across the industry as uncertainty continues around the future of oil and gas in the North Sea.

The Energy Profits Levy, often referred to as the windfall tax, was introduced by the Conservatives and has since remained in place under Labour.

Thomson argued that the tax has undermined confidence within the industry and placed pressure on supply chains and local communities heavily dependent on energy jobs.

Speaking during the campaign, Thomson said:

“The only reason Kemi Badenoch should be showing her face in Aberdeen is to apologise to the communities suffering the consequences of her party’s job killing tax on Scotland’s energy.

“1000 jobs are being lost every month thanks to the Tories’ windfall tax with investment driven away and our supply chains put at risk.

“The Tories cannot wash their hands of the damage they have caused in Aberdeen.

“£400bn has been syphoned off from our North Sea and just like Nigel Farage and Labour, the Tories want to continue to treat our industry as a cash cow with nothing sent back in return.

“It is Scotland’s energy and it should be in Scotland’s hands.

“Only the SNP is on the side of Scotland’s energy sector and the people who work in it.

“Scotland’s has the energy, but Westminster has the power.

“A vote for the SNP is a vote to put Scotland’s energy in Scotland’s hands.”

The debate around the future of Scotland’s oil and gas sector continues to dominate political discussion across the North East where thousands of jobs remain tied directly or indirectly to the energy industry.

The Aberdeen South contest is also shaping into a wider political battle over who can best defend jobs, investment and long term economic stability in one of Scotland’s most strategically important industries.