Oral Answers to Questions

John Leech Excerpts

Thursday 13th December 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. This may be a suitable subject for a full-day debate, but the answers must not take that form. We are grateful to the Secretary of State for his recognition of that important point.

[Mr John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD)]

I welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement that there will be some further environmental studies, because is it not the case that at present we simply do not know the environmental impact of shale gas exploration in relation to methane seepage and methane getting out into the atmosphere? Until we can be certain of the impact, we must proceed with a great deal of caution.