PETROCHEMICAL giant Ineos accused the Scottish Government of taking an “Alice-in-Wonderland” approach to fracking, after the conclusion of the firm’s legal challenge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh.
Tom Pickering, operations director at Ineos Shale, said that evidence presented had revealed a “staggering U-turn” from ministers on the issue and had “cast further uncertainty and ambiguity” over their position.
Ineos and Aberdeen firm Reach-CSG took Scottish Ministers to court over a decision to convert a moratorium on the controversial gas extraction technique into an effective ban.
During proceedings, James Mure QC, for the Scottish Government, suggested Ministers had simply announced a preferred position on the matter and had not finally adopted it.
Lord Pentland will issue a judgment on the case in the coming weeks following three days of submissions.
Speaking outside the court, Pickering said: “We were astonished to learn during proceedings that the Scottish Government claims it has not issued a ban on fracking in Scotland, and indeed there may never be one.
“The position of the Scottish
Government that has now been stated in court represents a staggering U-turn on the policy direction announced by the Energy Minister during parliamentary debate in October last year, and by the First Minister when she said in Parliament ‘Scotland should welcome the fact that fracking in Scotland is banned’.
“The developments during the judicial review process undermine the statements made by Ministers and cast further uncertainty and ambiguity across the policy framework for onshore unconventional oil and gas development in Scotland. We took Ministers and the Government at their word.
“Sadly we seem to have reached the Alice-in-Wonderland situation where a business has to go to the Scottish courts to establish whether announcements in Holyrood can be taken at face value. As a result there is now an unpredictable and uncertain environment for business in Scotland.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel