Fracking Tsar quits after government inaction

The UK shale gas industry has long struggled to gain traction and sees no green light in sight

The resignation of the UK's first shale gas commissioner, Natascha Engel, after only six months in the job is likely to change little for a sector that is already in a state of near-paralysis. Engel said an understanding with the government, when she took on the role, that tough environmental rules governing fracking would be eased to facilitate the country's nascent search for shale gas had not yielded results. She described as "ridiculous", a rule that means companies must stop carrying out hydraulic fracturing and review their operations in the event that a tremor larger than 0.5 magnitude on the Richter scale was recorded at their site. Engel was formerly an MP for the opposition Labour