Boris Johnson has clashed with his likely successor by hitting out at supporters of fracking.
The outgoing prime minister said he was “slightly dubious” that shale gas exploration “will prove to be a panacea” for the energy crisis.
Johnson’s comments, as he gave his backing to the Sizewell C nuclear power plant, came just days after Liz Truss signalled she will end the current moratorium on shale gas exploration.
Writing in the Daily Mail, she said: “We will end the effective ban on extracting our huge reserves of shale gas by fracking but be led by science, setting out a plan to ensure communities benefit.”
But Johnson hit out at fracking supporters and insisted the UK should instead increase the amount of power it generates from cleaner sources like wind.
He said: “If we could frack effectively and cheaply in this country, that would be possibly a very beneficial thing. I’m just, I have to say, slightly dubious that it will prove to be a panacea.
“I would much rather that we focused on the things where we are brilliant, and where the environmental damage is really minimal.”
Johnson later added: “Tell everybody who thinks hydrocarbons are the only answer and we should get fracking and all that: offshore wind is now the cheapest form of electricity in this country.”