The outspoken businessman who stood as an independent candidate in the 2010 general election in Burnley, said: “We are all appalled by Putin’s actions and believe he will not stop Ukraine.

“Putin sees Biden and NATO in general as weak, frankly who can blame him.

“It is inconceivable that we sit and watch towns and cities full of civilians being systematically bombed, it is a repeat of Hitler’s blitzkrieg.

“It is time to act. The West must tell China that we will act. Give Putin 24 hours to cease fire or we will destroy all his forces in Ukraine. We have the military capacity; Russian forces are few motivated and generally have poor equipment and lack leadership.

“Successive governments have dodged all the tough questions about our energy security. The fact is that we need a mix of all forms of energy production. It is now recognized that we are paying the price for dithering on nuclear and we are clearly exposed today to a global energy crisis.

“We need to start fracking now and keep developing the North Sea oil fields. The argument that fracking in Lancashire will make no difference to the price of European energy is frankly ridiculous, a fifteen year old student of basic economics would find that claim unbelievable.

“Legislation could be passed limiting the extraction of fracked gas to 5% of our total energy needs in perpetuity. granted -fracking movement and totally exaggerated environmental damage claims.

“Everyone accepts that humanity is damaging the planet and we must continue to focus on alternatives to fossil fuels, I fear our current headlong rush is too fast and economically very damaging.

“Putin wants to see us dismantle our steelmaking capabilities and other energy-intensive industries, China watches and rubs its hands as steel, glass, shipbuilding and many other industries evaporate .

“Fracking will create jobs, contribute to our energy security, help our balance of payments and will undoubtedly be carried out under the strictest environmental safeguards in the world.”

Mr Higginbotham had raised the issue of the growing energy crisis in the House of Commons last month.

Speaking to Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth, Greg Hands, Mr. Higginbotham said: “Global energy prices continue to be very volatile, which is a big concern for my constituents in Burnley and Padiham. We know one of the reasons for this is the weaponization of energy by countries like Russia, which has only underscored how we should not rely on hostile state actors.

Mr Hands replied: “Our exposure to global gas prices highlights the importance, both of our own North Sea gas production, but also of building a strong renewable sector to reduce our reliance on imports. energy in the first place.”