Blow to fracking firms as UK insists on financial checks

Companies seeking exploration rights need to prove they can bear clean-up costs as business secretary tightens consent rules

Fracking companies must undergo financial health checks if they want to win a green light for their operations, the business secretary has said, as the industry faces another barrier to exploration in the UK.

The decision comes after a Barclays-backed company hoping to be the first to frack in the UK for seven years suffered a blow when the business secretary, Greg Clark, said he was withholding consent because of the state of its accounts.