Scottish government moves to support fracking ban

The Scottish government confirmed on Tuesday that it would move to back a ban on fracking in the country as it moved to finalise a vote on the matter in the Scottish Parliament by the end of the year.

Paul Wheelhouse, Scotland's energy minister, told MSPs that the moratorium on fracking should continue "indefinitely," saying fracking "cannot and will not take place in Scotland."

The current moratorium on the technique, in place since 2015, prohibits the process of drilling into the earth before directing a high-pressure water mixture at the rock in order to release the gasses contained within.

A series of expert reports commissioned by ministers into the controversial extraction technique was launched in January and came back with an "overwhelming" opposition to the government allowing fracking to continue as 99% of respondents saying they were against the practice.

While shale gas was processed in Scotland at a site in Grangemouth after being shipped in from abroad, it was still illegal to extract the substance from beneath Scottish soil.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she was "highly sceptical" about fracking, noting she had "big questions" about its environmental impact and potential damage to health and local communities.