Vladimir Putin has long worked out that destroying those pipes could bring Britain to its knees within days, especially in winter.
There are precedents. In 2022, unknown saboteurs destroyed the Nord Stream pipelines designed to bring Russian gas to Germany.
The UK Ministry of Defence also confirmed last month that it had successfully thwarted a covert Russian submarine operation aimed at mapping the UK’s subsea pipelines as a precursor to future sabotage.
This is just one example of the vulnerability hanging over Britain’s energy supplies.
In Scotland, the destruction of UK energy jobs in favour of Norway has also become a key political issue.
Russell Borthwick, the chief executive of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, says: “The UK is effectively outsourcing production, jobs and tax revenues to countries like Norway.
“It is economically illogical that billions of pounds are leaving the UK economy every year to support jobs, public services and sovereign wealth in Norway, all while highly skilled workers in the North Sea face uncertainty at home.”
Even the Norwegians back that argument.
Political shift has ‘significant consequences’
Kolbjørn Andreassen, of Norwegian trade body Offshore Norge, claims that the UK’s decision to suppress its own North Sea was proving disastrous.
“Oil and gas account for nearly three quarters of the UK’s total energy demand,” he says. “Yet we are seeing an increasingly challenging and unpredictable tax regime in the UK, along with a political shift away from exploration and production. This has had significant consequences.
“Norway’s framework is stable, predictable and anchored in long-term policy continuity.”
Mr Miliband’s team argues that it is wrong to compare the UK offshore industry to Norway, suggesting that the Norwegian basin contains richer reserves while the North Sea is in terminal decline.
“Issuing new licences to explore new fields will not take a penny off bills, cannot make us energy secure and will only accelerate the worsening climate crisis,” a spokesman said.
However, Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, is adamant that relying so much on one country is both risky and expensive.
“We are sending billions of pounds to Norway for gas we could be drilling ourselves, but won’t because of Ed Miliband’s hair shirt approach to climate policy,” she says.
“It is not in Britain’s interest but the result would make the Vikings proud.”