Aidan O'Neill QC

Aidan O’Neill QC, whose opinion was commissioned by Friends of the Earth, made his comments ahead of an anticipated announcement from the Scottish government about how it intends to move forward on the issue of fracking, which is currently halted by an indefinite moratorium.

Mr O’Neill’s opinion states that Holyrood can pass primary legislation to prohibit unconventional oil and gas extraction using powers over onshore licensing recently devolved from Westminster and that a strong argument can be made that the Scottish government and Parliament are in fact required by law to impose such an outright ban.

It adds that the surer way to defeat any further legal challenges to the position of no support for fracking would be to enshrine it in primary legislation.

Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaigns Mary Church said: “This legal opinion shows that not only is it well within the power of the Scottish government to ban fracking, but that legislating would be a far more robust way to stop the industry and defeat any further legal challenges from the likes of INEOS.

“Communities on the frontline of this dirty industry have been waiting for over four years for the Scottish government to bring its long drawn out process on unconventional oil and gas to an end. It is time for Ministers to live up to their rhetoric and legislate to ban fracking for good.

“Eighteen months ago the First Minister promised a ban on the industry, but last year the government’s position was exposed by INEOS’s court case as having no legal force. Ministers are now committed to a final decision before Easter, but it is pretty clear that all they plan to do is keep the current moratorium going on an indefinite basis, an approach that means any future government could overturn it.”

Claudia Beamish MSP, Scottish Labour’s climate spokesperson, said: “This is a significant development that adds some much-needed clarity to the fracking debate in Scotland.

“I will be seriously considering the next steps required to protect our communities, our environment, and our health from fracking in Scotland while also tackling climate change.

“The most robust and appropriate way could well be to bring back my Fracking Ban Bill, but Labour will also consider whether it would be possible to amend the Climate Change Bill, due in front of Holyrood in a matter of weeks.”