Cuadrilla boss and government employee Lord John Browne has yet again met senior government officials to press the case for Cuadrilla Resources, recent documents show.
Browne has repeatedly used his position within the Cabinet Office to press for advantages for the UK’s notorious fracker; most recently (so far as we know) pressing the case with Lord Smith (head of the Environment Agency), for exemptions to EA regulations in November 2012.
At the end of 2011/early 2012 Browne held sepearte meetings with then Ministers Chris Huhne and Greg Barker.
He later brought in Cuadrilla senior management to lobby senior Civil Servant Lord Marland (then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change), followed by then Minister Charles Hendry on the 2nd July 2012.
Anonymous sources also claim Browne has held many unofficial meetings at DECC, none of which were officially recorded.
Even other fracking companies must wonder at this fracking overlord’s continued access to government officials.
Yet why on earth is Lord Browne allowed free reign to roam around goverment advocating for Cuadrilla Resources? How many times must he be caught pushing for fracking before he’s brought to heel?
The answer is simple: it won’t happen. These millionaire overlords exist in a gilded sphere of influence that no public outing can prevent. We can write letters, object to planning, input into consultations – and the only thing that will happen is that Lord Browne will whisper in someone’s ear – the rest is ignored.
There is a rat here, and he stinks to high heaven. Take action: join the Great Gas Gala at Balcombe and show Lord Browne what you think of his fracking plans.
