Reuters: Britain's PM Cameron says shale gas rules must be simplified

Britain must simplify regulations governing shale gas extraction or fracking to speed up the development of an energy source that has helped to transform the U.S. market, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Friday.

"On fracking, we do need to take action across the board to help enable this technology to go ahead," Cameron told a news conference in Brussels after a meeting of European leaders.

"There is a worry people are going to have to go through so many different permits in order to start fracking that they simply won't bother, so we need a simplified system."

Under pressure to do more to bring down rising consumer energy costs, Cameron has repeatedly urged the country to "get behind fracking", a technology he says would bring down bills and create tens of thousands of jobs.  MORE