THE Green Party criticised government plans yesterday to overrule councils that are opposed to fracking by fast-tracking applications.

Energy Secretary Amber Rudd wrote in The Sunday Times claiming there was a “national need” for fracking despite fears over public health and pollution levels.

The practice uses high-pressure chemicals, sand and water to smash shale rock to release gas.

“Going all out for fracking is short-sighted and is a big distraction from the new era of clean renewable energy that scientists are urging us to move into,” said South East England Green MEP Keith Taylor.

And he said that the Tories were “in bed with the fracking industry,” despite the morotorium imposed after the Blackpool earthquakes of 2011.

But Ms Rudd said that energy firms’ bids to frack should not be “dragged out for months, or even years” although evidence shows that landscapes and buildings are ruined by the intense underground drilling.

The case against fracking was strengthened in June when Lancashire County Council blocked Cuadrilla’s bid for a site after days of deliberation.