Fracking raised in Commons by Isle MP

He said many people in his constituency had genuine concerns about the practice and he pointed to the number of test sites covering parts of the Isle.

He said: “I find that many people are very reasonable, in that they would be open to the option of fracking as long as they felt that the regime was strict enough and that there were enough environmental protections in place.

“What concerns me about this issue is the restricted time, our inability to vote on all the amendments, and what has happened between the Lords and the Commons with regard to what I thought we agreed in the Commons. It leads many people to conclude that the Government are in league with the extraction companies or that there is something to hide.”

He said he did not believe that was the case, but felt there was a strong argument for pausing and thinking again on the issue, particularly given what had happened to oil prices internationally and added: “The residents of the Isle of Axholme are not closed-minded about this technology; they simply want to know that the evidence is there to support it and that they will be sufficiently well protected.”