The Daily Telegraph - North Sea drilling approval and anti-Semitism school report

Oct 21, 2026

Wednesday 21 October 2026 issue excerpts report a decision on new North Sea gas drilling, including delays for the Jackdaw project after a 2022 legal challenge by climate activists. The energy secretary is expected to approve the project as gas prices rise sharply, with debate tied to Labour manifesto commitments. A separate education landmark review proposes measures against anti-Semitism in schools, citing abuse reported by Jewish pupils and recommending guidance on staff conduct, political impartiality, reporting, and responses.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

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Pages59

Reading Time2 h 29 min

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Teachers face ban on pro-Palestine badges

Landmark report sets out plans to tackle surge of anti-Semitism in schools

North Sea drilling approved as fuel costs soar

Jackdaw decision after delays and legal challenge

Wednesday 21October2026 telegraph.co.uk No53,327 £4.00 All the president'swomen Why Trump'saides never last long Whatever Features Features AUSTEN happened PRIDE 8 to beautiful book covers? CDaily # Teachersface ban onPalestinebadges North Seadrillingapprovedasfuel costs soar By Daniel Martin and Chris Price NEW drilling for gas in the North Seawill be approved today,after energyprices yesterday hit a four-year high. Miatta Fahnbulleh,the Energy Secre-tary,is expected to grant approvalfor theJackdaw project after months of delays. The Conservatives first granted per-mission for drillingin the field,which is150miles east of Aberdeen,in 2022,butthe project was ruled unlawful after acourt challenge by climate activists. Labourpromisedto stopissuing newlicences for North Sea drilling in its2024 manifesto,but the commitmentdoes not include projects such as Jack-daw,which had already been approved.The decision was delayed until after theLabour Party conference,and theHolborn and St Pancras by-election. # Landmark report sets out plans totackle surge ofanti-Semitism in schools A decision is yet to be made on thefuture of Rosebank,UK's last majoruntappedoil reserve. Semitism as a particular kind of hate,and certainly that's one of the themes ofthis report.We do need to name anti-Semitism as a particular kind of preju-dice and hate,because I think if youdon't name it,you don't actually knowwhat you're tackling.” ByAlbert Tait EDUCATION EDITOR TEACHERS face being banned fromwearing pro-Palestine badges followinga review ofanti-Semitism in schools. Gas prices hit their highest levelsince December 2022 yesterday,andenergy bills are expected to rise byhundreds of pounds this winter becauseof the war in Iran.In the UK,gas isselling for 210p per therm-more thandouble this time lastyear.At the peak ofthe energy crisis in August 2022,pricesbriefly hit 640p per therm. The reportby Sir David Bell,commis-sioned by the Government,will detailthe scale of abuse suffered by Jewishpupils,with three in five reporting thatthey had been targeted. He added that schools should makesure that policies on staff behaviourshouldbe clear thatanti-Semitismis notacceptable,and when pupils experienceit,robust reporting and response mech-anisms should be in place. Sir David,a former Ofsted chiefinspector,will make 27 recommenda-tions to deal with anti-Semitism inschools and colleges in England.Thesewill include strengthening guidance onpolitical impartiality,particularlyregarding geopolitical issues. When he became Prime Minister,Andy Burnhampromisedtotake a“prag-matic”approach to North Sea energy.However,approval hasbeen complicatedbythe Labour manifesto pledge. Sir David was commissioned inMarch to investigate anti-Semitism inschools on behalf of the Department forEducation(DfE).His report,which wasleaked to The Telegraph,will be pub-lished in full today. Ed Miliband,the Foreign Secretaryand formerenergy secretary,is staunchlyopposed to new drilling.Environmentalgroups hadalso calledon Mr Burnham to“stick to the spirit of Labour's manifesto”anddeny approval.However,unionsrep-resenting North Sea workers had calledon him to sign offon the drilling.Propo-nents of Jackdaw and Rosebank withinLabour have argued that neitheris anewfossil fuel field,because the process ofthem being approved predates Labour'selection victory. He will also say schools should “con-sider the appropriateness”of politicalexpressions or identifiers.Some teach-ers have taken towearing pro-Palestinebadges in the classroom,including thePalestinian watermelon symbol.Thereis no blanket ban on teachers wearingsuch emblems.Schools do have a legal The former schools inspector,whohas gathered evidence from pupils,teachers,school governors and parents,from both state and privateschools,saidthat 20per cent ofall students had wit-nessed anti-Semitism and three in five duty to prevent teachers from promot-Jewish students had experienced it.i

FAQs

What is the expected outcome for the North Sea Jackdaw gas drilling project?

Approval for the Jackdaw project is expected to be granted today after months of delays. The decision follows earlier permission and a later court ruling that the project was unlawful.

Why has the North Sea drilling decision been delayed?

The decision has been complicated by Labour manifesto pledges and is described as being delayed until after major political events. It also relates to how projects such as Jackdaw were already approved.

What does the anti-Semitism school report recommend regarding staff and political impartiality?

The report is expected to set clear policies for staff behaviour, ensuring anti-Semitism is not acceptable. It also includes strengthening guidance on political impartiality so students can debate topical issues without teachers imposing views.

Oct 21, 2026

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