Boris: Fracking may be necessary to 'keep the lights on'

Hydraulic fracturing - commonly known as 'fracking' - is a technique in which a mixture is injected at high pressure into holes drilled in shale to locate gas or petroleum.

In a letter to the Times newspaper today, Boris Johnson wrote:

"Sir, Many people have not yet wokenup to the reality that the population of London is now growing faster than anycity in Europe. As I make clear in our 2020 Vision, this demographic explosionis placing huge demands on our infrastructure — including power generation.

It is a tragic comment on Labour’s failure to plan ahead that in only two years our electricity capacity headroom (the difference between demand and supply) will be down to 2 per cent.

We will have to ask some of our more energy-intensive industries not to operate at peak times, the kind of policy we last saw in the 1970s.

It is time for maximum boldness in energy supply. I fully support the Government’s drive for nuclear power, and if reserves of shale can be exploited in London we should leave no stone unturned, or unfracked, in the cause of keeping the lights on."