THE Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled yesterday that Friends of the Earth (FoE) must prove that fracking is dangerous before saying so in its fundraising fliers.

The environmental protection campaign group issued a flier in which it said that 25 per cent of chemicals used during the fracking process could cause cancer, and suggested there was a risk of contamination to drinking water.

But profit-hungry fracking firm Cuadrilla objected and complained to the advertising watchdog.

After a 14-month taxpayer-funded investigation, the ASA said it had “informally resolved” the case after FoE “agreed not to repeat the claims or claims that had the same meaning” without supporting evidence.

The ASA said that the flier must not appear again in its current form and the campaigners must “not make claims about the likely effects of fracking on the health of local populations, drinking water, or property prices in the absence of adequate evidence.”

Fracking involves the pumping of water, sand and chemicals into shale layers deep beneath the Earth’s surface to release trapped oil or gas.

FoE senior campaigner Donna Hume said: “Cuadrilla’s complaint isn’t surprising from a profit-driven fracking company. After all, they have shareholders to keep happy.

“We continue to campaign against fracking, alongside local people, because the process of exploring for and extracting shale gas is inherently risky for the environment.

“This is why fracking is banned or put on hold in so many countries.”

In October, the government overruled Lancashire County Council’s refusal of permission for fracking at Cuadrilla’s site at Little Plumpton in Lancashire.

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