Labour is accused of 'gravest betrayal' after Scotland's Acorn carbon capture project loses the £200m Miliband promised in the Budget

The UK Treasury's Budget documents reveal that the Acorn Carbon Capture and Storage project at St Fergus, near Peterhead, has lost a £200 million capital grant, with the funds redirected to the Defence Investment Plan. Developers argue the scheme could have safeguarded up to 18,000 North Sea jobs and generated 15,000 more, many of them drawing on expertise built up in the offshore oil and gas industry.

SNP MP Seamus Logan called the cut "treacherous" after Labour gave "explicit and repeated commitments" that capital was secured.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander defended the decision, citing "significant challenges" and a "responsibility to think carefully about the use of public money."