TORY Business Minister Claire Perry has told Scots to cheer up and stop being so miserable over the UK Government’s decision to scrap a billion pound carbon capture scheme which would have created 600 jobs.

MPs were debating the government’s Clean Growth Strategy, which included plans to revive carbon capture technology.

But two years ago, in one of his final acts as Chancellor, George Osborne scrapped a £1bn competition to develop the technology that sucks carbon dioxide out of the air, neutralising it and, effectively, creating “negative emissions”.

Shell and SSE had spent years working on the technology at Peterhead Power Station, and it was at an advanced stage, when the Government pulled the plug.

In the Westminster Hall debate on Thursday, SNP MP Drew Hendry warned those expecting big things from the Government’s programme to be aware of what happened to Peterhead.

“There was a shameful decision by the UK government to pull the plug in the long planned development at Peterhead, where we saw, with no warning, a huge damaging decision to create a legacy that would deter investment incentives and dent consumer confidence. It was a manifesto betrayal," he said. "This was in the manifesto that this would go ahead. It cost the taxpayer £100m. Peterhead was set and ready to accept a billion pound grant and expected 600 jobs.”

He added: “George Osborne, by axing it at the 11th hour, created what could only be described as a betrayal of the people of Peterhead."

Hendry said the Government strategy was not putting enough into the technology to make it worthwhile.

“Even now this commitment to Carbon Capture Storage, welcome though this small u-turn is, is still fairly mealy mouthed, because if you look at the detail it says says subject to cost reduction, that’s the bare minimum of commitment.

“The Carbon Capture Storage Association have pointed out this is counter to how technology actually develops, you have to invest to get the experience and drive costs down.

“It’s very difficult to see how energy policy cherry picked in this way with these policy announcements and these u-turns is going to provide a cohesive way forward for the industry.”

Perry told SNP MP to be a bit more cheerful.

“I know that the marching orders for the SNP... is that they have to be as gloomy as possible about everything at all times, but I will frankly say it’s really very sad that he hasn’t paid reference today to the high wind offshore floating wind plant, one of the most innovative and creative things that’s being done.

“That’s being done by the UK Government, because this is not a devolved matter, as he knows, and that has been done because actually it was the combination of the policy, government leadership, working with industry to drive the cost down for offshore wind, exactly as we propose to do with this technology.

“So let’s focus on what can be delivered and acknowledge that no country in the world is taking a major step into unreformed CCS at the moment, and we do want to do this together, so perhaps just a bit more cheerfulness from north of the border.”

Hendry said it was now “quite common” to Tory ministers to tell people just to “hope for the best”.

He continued: “No amount of deflection from the minister will get away from the point that the UK government, at the 11th hour, cancelled the Peterhead project with no warning to the people that were involved. And that is shameful."