Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely has told the County Press he does "not expect to see any fracking on the Isle of Wight."

His comments follow the lifting of a ban on future applications for the extraction of shale gas, "where there is local support", by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Developers will need to have the necessary licences, permissions and consents for applicactions in England.

In his statement to the County Press, Mr Seely stopped short of outright opposition to fracking in other parts of England, however, if conditions are right.

The MP said: "Fracking should only proceed if the science shows that it is safe, sustainable and minimises disturbances to local communities.

"The Isle of Wight is not a suitable area for fracking to take place and I would not support it.

"Indeed, I fought, with others, the UKOG application earlier this year, and we won.

"As a nation, we have made excellent progress in recent years in the move towards renewables, but in future we will still need a mix of energy supplies.

"As well as the need to address immediate energy issues, we need to plan for the long term future of our country.

"I do not expect to see any fracking on the Isle of Wight.”

This week, the government's business and energy secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg, said the Government would "realise any potential sources of domestic gas" - despite a manifesto promise in which the Conservative Party said fracking would only be allowed if its safety could be guaranteed.

Mr Rees-Mogg argued a 'higher level of disturbance', as a result of fracking, is in the national interest.

Shadow climate secretary Ed Miliband said it was "a dangerous fantasy [that] would do nothing to cut energy bills, costs more than renewables, and is unsafe."

Scotland says it will continue to ban the process, one which campaigners say can cause earth tremors.

Meanwhile, on October 5, members of the Isle of Wight Council will vote on the Island Planning Strategy - around a year after Islanders were first consulted about it.

A vote was due this month, but the matter was delayed by the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Isle of Wight Council's cabinet member for the environment, Jonathan Bacon has insisted the policy could help prevent fracking applications for the Island, even though it does not directly deal with the matter.

An extraordinary meeting is in the diary to consider the document that will impact planning decisions on the Isle of Wight for the next fifteen years, taking the environment, community, housing, economy, transport and growth into account.

Controversially, it looks set to take place without a number of Island councillors, some of who will be at the Conservative Party conference, in Brighton - triggering calls for the meeting to be rearranged.

Cllr Bacon said: "Last week worrying announcements were made by the Government.

"I, for one, do not want to see us in a situation where we may have to deal with new threats of this type.

"Following a lot of work, it creates a context which is much more focussed on our environment and includes policies to protect and enhance our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, our Dark Skies, the Biosphere and the pursuit of our Climate Change Strategy through the Mission Zero project."

What is fracking?

Fracking is the process of hydraulic fracturing, which uses high-pressure liquid to release gas from shale formations.

Much of the Island was identified as a possible fracking zone in 2015 - prompting a campaign group call Frack Free Isle of Wight. However, in recent years, exploratory oil drilling has been more likely - until licence holder UKOG walked away in July, when plans for a well were thrown out at County Hall.