PREVIOUS Tory governments were guilty of "ethnically cleansing" mining communities in the UK, Labour veteran Dennis Skinner said today.

The left-wing MP, who represents Bolsover, a constituency in Derbyshire which has a number of mines, made the comments as he warned there were dangers in drilling for shale gas.

A number of Tory MPs were heard to mutter disgrace after Mr Skinner made the comments.

In an exchange with Energy Minister Michael Fallon in the House of Commons, Mr Skinner said: "Although we have to be careful about going into those old mining areas where the miners and the miners welfares were ethnically cleansed by previous Tory governments - that's exactly what I said - where in Calow, near Bolsover, they are actually thinking of drilling... in an area not a mile away from where methane escaped and nearly killed several hundred people in the village of Arkwright.

"I have warned you - be careful where these people operate.

"And as for some great nirvana, some great future for this fracking, you have not been able to prove at all that there is that much in it for Britain."

Mr Fallon replied: "Let me utterly reject about what you said about ethnic cleansing.

"It is particularly distasteful in a week where this Government has assisted UK Coal in the safeguarding of 2,000 jobs at Kellingley and Thoresby collieries.

"We don't yet know the full potential of shale in this country. What is important that we allow those developers to go down and have a look at what the potential is.

"That is why we are simplifying and streamlining the planning and environmental system to allow them to do that."