Osborne: Shale gas 'offers huge advantages'

The government has outlined plans to give tax breaks to companies involved in the UK's nascent shale gas industry.

It has proposed cutting the tax on some of the income generated from producing shale gas - found in underground shale rock formations - from 62% to just 30%.

But the plans have been criticised by environmentalists, with Friends of the Earth calling them a "disgrace".

Speaking in Moscow Chancellor George Osborne argued that shale gas extraction would offer many benefits to the UK in terms of jobs and cheaper energy.