Environmental charities have criticised Ineos' decision to call for a judicial review

A petrochemical giant is to challenge Scotland’s fracking ban.

Ministers announced in October that they would not allow shale gas extraction.

However Grangemouth owners Ineos have applied for a judicial review of the decision, a move which has angered environmental charities.

The company has said it has serious concerns about the legitimacy of the decision, and that the government initially supported gas extraction.

Ineos shale operations manager Tom Pickering said: "If Scotland wants to continue to be considered as a serious place to do business, then it cannot simply remove the policy support that attracted that investment in the first place without proper procedures being followed and without the offer of appropriate financial compensation."

The Scottish Government has said it has taken a careful and considerate approach in making its decision, which was based on a detailed assessment of evidence.

Greenpeace UK's head of energy Hannah Martin described the review as a desperate move.

"This is a desperate attempt by Ineos to overthrow a decision by the Scottish Government which enjoyed widespread public support,” she said.

"The UK government's latest figures have shown that the amount of electricity generated by burning gas is expected to halve by 2025, and by then renewables will have overtaken gas as Britain's main power source. Fracked gas has no place in our energy future, especially in a country like Scotland that's a world leader in renewable energy."