THIS Saturday’s ‘Wales Against Fracking’ Day (Saturday, 5th July) is the first major Wales-wide protest against plans to drill for shale gas beneath our feet.

Across Wales, concerned local residents will be calling upon the Welsh Government to halt fracking in Wales.

As a Plaid Cymru Member of the European Parliament for Wales, I am supporting this, not only because of the concerns regarding fracking that have led to minor earthquakes and possible contamination of the water table, but because we must move away from a society that depends on fossil fuels and invest, for our long term future, in renewable energy instead.

The UK Government not only supports fracking, but is going even further, forcing through legislation to allow companies to drill underneath people’s homes, without requiring their permission!

This is why we cannot trust the UK Government to represent Wales’s best interests, and why all energy decisions should be made here in Wales, by our elected politicians.

Jill Evans MEP Plaid Cymru