Yorkshire police chief concerned about the return of fracking protests

The Government halted shale gas extraction in England in 2019, due to fears about earthquakes, but Ministers are being urged to rethink the ban as they attempt to limit soaring energy prices and phase out Russian imports.

Dr Billings said fracking is extremely divisive and “never good news for policing” as they “attract environmental protesters from far and near”.

“We saw this happen at Kirby Misperton in North Yorkshire and over the hills in Lancashire,” he said.


“These protests are not easy to police. Sites are often in open countryside giving many points of access.

“It is difficult to remove determined protesters from trees or underneath vehicles. The police face the usual dilemma: they must enable peaceful protest but also make it possible for people to go about their lawful business.

“This is potentially a huge demand on officer numbers and quickly runs up big bills in overtime, as the Lancashire constabulary found.”