Warring Tory and SNP politicians were accused yesterday of ignoring the best way of securing Scotland’s oil and gas wealth for the people.

The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) declared that the wealth of the North Sea must be taken into public ownership — instead of being left to “profit-hungry” multinational corporations.

SSP spokesman Ken Ferguson said that Scottish control of North Sea oil as proposed by the SNP government would be “a step forward.”

But he added: “While we work in the cross-party Yes campaign, the SSP proposes an economic approach based on public ownership of oil and our vast potential in wind and wave power.”

Prime Minister David Cameron shepherded his entire team of senior ministers on a day trip to Scotland for a cabinet meeting at the Aberdeen headquarters of rapacious energy giant Shell.

Ministers were scattered around the area like confetti, engaging in a series of tacky PR events.

Education Secretary Michael Gove swooped on Aberdeen University, while communities secretary Eric Pickles visited a charitable trust in Kirkcaldy.

The cabinet meeting in Scotland was a publicity stunt to mark publication of a Westminster government-commissioned review of Britain’s offshore oil and gas industry.

Review author Sir Ian Wood urged a new regulator to maximise economic gains from new investment.

The industry faces new challenges to exploit remaining reserves of up to 24 million barrels of oil equivalent, following a 38 per cent fall in production over the past three years.

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond chaired a meeting of his cabinet at Portlethen, just a few miles away from Mr Cameron’s cabinet gathering.

Mr Salmond declared that Westminster governments had an “abysmal” record of management of North Sea oil and gas over 40 years.

“All we have to do here in Aberdeen is glance across the North Sea to Norway and then we see a country, much smaller than Scotland, which has the most successful oil and gas industry in the world,” he said.

The SNP has produced plans to earmark about a tenth of oil and gas tax revenues for a Norwegian-style sovereign wealth fund producing about £1 billion per year.

Mr Salmond accused Mr Cameron of dodging a public debate on the issue.