In response to the appalling invasion of Ukraine the Government has rightly announced that the UK will ban imports of Russian oil and gas. However, these sources of energy will need to be replaced and it is vital that this does not come at the expense of our climate objectives.

That is why it is so worrying that, given the opportunity to do so in response to my question, the Secretary of State would not rule out a return to fracking in the UK, which has been on hold since 2019.
Not only would fracking completely undermine our climate commitments and cause air and water pollution, it would not come close to supplying the level of gas required to stabilise energy prices.

Labour has been clear that the long-term solution to the energy crisis is moving away from our dependence on fossil fuels for good. Investing in renewable energy is the best way to achieve this.