UK government hands out new fracking licences

Campaigners warn that awarding of 159 licences for onshore oil and gas exploration could open up swaths of the country to fracking

The government's controversial attempt to establish a shale gas industry in the UK took another step forward on Thursday when it handed out new licences for onshore gas and oil exploration in 159 blocks, in a move campaigners say could open up swaths of the countryside to fracking.

Companies must undergo a series of safety and environmental safety checks before they can start producing oil and gas commercially, though campaigners have maintained these are insufficiently tough.