UK ministers make it 'top priority' to ensure nature laws do not hamper fracking

Leaked letter reveals three ministers said they would work to ensure that protections for national parks and sites of scientific interest would not create barriers to shale gas exploration

The government has made it a "top priority" to ensure protections for national parks and sites of special scientific interest do not obstruct fracking across the country, according to a leaked letter from ministers.

Fracking in both protected areas was ruled out by the government last year, in the Infrastructure Act, although campaigners pointed out that companies could still drill vertically outside park boundaries and then horizontally beneath them.