SNP ministers spent £175k fighting fracking ban case

3 May 2019

The SNP government spent £175,000 fighting the fracking ban which its own lawyers admitted wasn’t a ban at all.

A Freedom of Information request by the Scottish Conservatives has revealed the cost to the taxpayer of the judicial review on extraction of unconventional gas.

The case was launched by leading energy firms after SNP ministers, including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, repeatedly said fracking was banned in Scotland.

However, in the courtroom, SNP government lawyers said that was merely a “gloss”, and that there was no ban in place at all.

Now the Scottish Conservatives have blasted the nationalists for not only misleading the public on the issue, but wasting taxpayers’ cash in the process.

Scottish Conservative energy spokesman Alexander Burnett said:

“The SNP deliberately misled the people of Scotland by saying there was a fracking ban – something even its own lawyers admitted was a nonsense.

“Now we learn this deceit cost the taxpayer more than £175,000.

“It’s not the first time the SNP has blown public money on an entirely avoidable court case.

“It’s yet another example of SNP incompetence at government level, and proof that the nationalists are completely unfit for office.”