GREEN BAN ON COAL PITS

THE Scottish Government yesterday effectively banned coal mining, saying ‘no support’ will be given for new pits.

The move was announced by the Scottish Greens at their conference in Dundee.

Scotland currently has no mines, although a conditional UK licence has been granted for a site in Cumbria which extends into Dumfries and Galloway.

Lorna Slater, the Minister for Green Skills and Biodiversity, said: ‘The Scottish Government is adopting our preferred position of no support for coal extraction in Scotland.

‘Scotland, the country that helped bring the coal-fired industrial revolution to the world, has drawn a line. The era of coal is over and I’m calling on the UK Government to follow us, to make the right call for once, to ban coal extraction for good.’

The party also reiterated its support for leaving the UK and scrapping the nuclear deterrent on the Clyde which supports 10,000 jobs.