Jacob Rees-Mogg has been criticised for claiming anti-fracking MPs are "being funded by Putin's regime" as he struggled to defend lifting the ban.
The Business Secretary appeared to be on the ropes in the Commons as furious Tories and opposition MPs lined up to question the safety of the process.
After Labour MP for Labour's Cat Smith told Mr Rees-Mogg that "there is no public support for fracking", adding, "[fracking is] not backed up by anyone in industry, and there’s no question of the environmentally demanding nature of fracking."
Mr Rees-Mogg said: “A number of people have said that fracking is environmentally friendly. It is more friendly than importing LNG from abroad. It is a lower carbon footprint and this is fundamentally important.
"I’m well aware that there have been objections to fracking. But there have been stories widely reported that some of the opposition to fracking has been funded by Mr Putin’s regime.”
Shadow climate change secretary Ed Miliband later tweeted: “Absolutely outrageous slur by Jacob Rees-Mogg that people who object to fracking are funded by Putin.
“Shameful and disgraceful.”
Senior Tory MP Sir Greg Knight, MP for East Yorkshire was mong many Tories who slammed the fracking announcement.
Sir Greg, who was an energy minister in the 90s, said: “Despite what he said, is it not the case that forecasting the occurrence of seismic events as a result of fracking remains a challenge to the experts?
“Is it not, therefore, creating a risk of an unknown quantity to pursue shale gas exploration at the present time? Is he aware the safety of the public is not a currency in which some of us choose to speculate?”
Mr Rees-Mogg replied: “Unusually, I disagree with my right honourable friend, that it is all a matter of proportionality, and that as I pointed out the movement on the ground level that we have from construction is about double that we have had from any instance with shale gas."
Tory MP Mark Fletcher said it appeared communities could be “bought off” to allow fracking under the Government’s plans.
The MP for Bolsover in Derbyshire said: “I’ve listened carefully to the Secretary of State and I have to say the local consent plans don’t seem to wash.
“It seems to come back to communities being bought off rather than having a vote. So, can the Secretary of State confirm once and for all if local residents across Bolsover, who are concerned about fracking , will get a vote to object to these schemes locally?”
Mr Rees-Mogg replied: “I think I made it very clear that the companies will have a deep responsibility to develop packages that make the extraction of shale gas attractive to local communities.
“It is really important that they succeed in that.”
Tory MP Mark Menzies said if Liz Truss “is to remain a woman of her word”, the Government should set out how local consent is established.
Responding to Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg’s suggestion that opposition was “ludditery”, Mr Menzies, MP for Fylde, said: “There is nothing luddite about the people of Lancashire or of Fylde."
