Anti-frackers ‘ignorant’ says Ineos boss Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Industrialist Sir Jim Ratcliffe claims an ‘ignorant minority’ of anti-fracking activists has scuppered a UK energy revolution.

The billionaire founder of the chemicals group Ineos said politicians had ‘totally ignored’ the science around shale gas extraction and had instead been swayed by public perceptions of the ‘so-called dangers’ of fracking.

The UK banned the practice in 2019 over fears that it caused earthquakes.

Swayed by public perception: Sir Jim Ratcliffe said politicians had ‘totally ignored’ the science around shale gas extraction

Ineos had spent £250m on British fracking projects before the ban, funds which the tycoon said had been ‘destroyed with the flick of a political switch’.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, he said the decision left the UK vulnerable to the global energy crisis.