The US ambassador to the UK has criticised the government's approach to North Sea oil and gas, describing restrictions on domestic production as "baffling".
Speaking at The Times CEO Summit, Warren Stephens said the UK had "extensive energy supplies within its reach", particularly in the North Sea, but was choosing to import energy instead.
"But instead of harnessing these oil and gas reserves, the UK is choosing to import energy from other nations at great cost to its taxpayers and often from the same fields the UK could be using itself," he said.
"And I will be frank - from a US perspective, this approach is baffling."
Stephens also called for the Energy Profits Levy to be scrapped, arguing that doing so could "overnight unlock growth and investment from global firms and it would also generate tax receipts".
The ambassador said the UK's high energy costs were the "main barrier" to stronger economic growth and warned that sectors such as AI, manufacturing and technology all depended on affordable power.
"If you want to have data centres, you'll have to do something about the power prices," he said.