Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Warsi on 7 July (WA 8), why they have not sought evidence from NATO regarding claims that Russia is funding non-governmental organisations opposed to fracking in the United Kingdom; and whether they will now do so.

I would like to clarify for the noble Lord, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) Secretary General has not claimed to possess evidence that Russia is funding non-governmental organisations opposed to fracking in the UK or elsewhere.

The Secretary General is reported to have said during a speech at Chatham House that it was his belief, following discussions with Allies, that “Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engages actively with so-called non-governmental organisations, environmental organisations working against shale gas – obviously to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas. That is my interpretation.”

The UK works closely with NATO and Allies to refute misinformation disseminated by Russia.