SCOTTISH First Minister Nicola Sturgeon faced flak from anti-fracking campaigners yesterday after it emerged that she met Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe, a keen proponent of shale gas extraction, in January.

They met on the same day that Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing announced a moratorium on planning permissions for unconventional oil and gas developments. The Ineos response was to say that the firm “understood the importance of consultation.”

Ed Pybus of campaign group Frack Off Scotland demanded to know what was said in the January meeting.

“I fear that local communities are being stitched up by backroom deals,” he said.

Ineos has bought licences to explore for shale gas over 700 square miles in Scotland.