Neil Parish, chairman of the Efra select committee and MP for Tiverton and Honiton, suggested the controversial practice would be “good for the country”. But he said it was important for the Government to demonstrate “tangible” benefits to local communities first in order to get their support.

His comments came during a Westminster debate in which he acknowledged there were no current plans to extract shale gas in Devon. But large areas of the Westcountry are open to applications, and the energy secretary is pushing for extraction to be permitted in national parks.

Mr Parish argued a “competitive and efficient” shale gas industry would be “good for the country”, adding that the UK could end up producing “a lot more” of the resource than expected. He qualified this by saying the gas “should not be brought out of the ground at any price” and recommending investment in infrastructure to ensure minimal disruption to communities and landscapes.