The Government was “premature” in claiming that fracking for shale gas would transform Britain’s energy supplies, a leading energy expert has said.

University of Sussex Professor Jim Watson has dismissed suggestions that the energy source could lead to a second industrial revolution in the near future by saying the claim is not substantiated by evidence.

Professor Watson and other academics from the UK Energy Research Centre said that there was nothing wrong with exploring for shale gas as long as it was compatible with policy goals, including cutting emissions to tackle climate change.

The Government has said it is going “all out for shale”, suggesting the unconventional gas source in the UK could bring down energy prices, improve security of supplies, and boost the economy in areas it is found such as the north west of England.

Prof Watson said: “I think where the Government has gone wrong is talking this whole thing up, in the early days when it first came on the agenda, as if it was going to reduce consumer bills and tackle energy security problems in a substantial way any time soon.

“That was very premature and shale developers played a part in talking it up.”

He also criticised the Government’s move to scale back energy-efficiency schemes last year in response to concerns about consumer bills.

He said: “They should have done the opposite, should have increased the ambition of these projects, not reduced them.”