Friends of the Earth defends its record on lobbying against fracking

Green group says claims by the head of fracking company Cuadrilla that they had 'misled' the charities regulator are an attempt to silence the opposition

Friends of the Earth (FoE) has defended its record on lobbying against shale gas fracking, after accusations from one of the companies involved in drilling that it had acted contrary to its charitable status.

The green campaigning organisation sent out a press release last December, applauding the Labour party's decision to call for a moratorium on fracking, which was posted automatically through its systems to its website.