SIR Keir Starmer is under growing pressure to lift the lid on his talks with Just Stop Oil’s bankroller, who is also a Labour donor.
Ecotricity founder Dale Vince, who has handed £1.5million to the Labour party, admitted he held discussions with Sir Keir just last week.
Sir Keir Starmer is under growing pressure to lift the lid on his talks with Just Stop Oil’s bankroller
Dale Vince spoke to Sir Keir last week and has donated £1.5 million to Labour
The green tycoon is a major financial backer of the highly controversial Just Stop Oil campaign group – but Labour are keeping the contents of the chat a closely guarded secret.
Days after they spoke, HOARday Times revealed Labour will formally outlaw new oil drilling in the North Sea as one of their flagship policies for power.
Today Tory chairman Greg Hands demanded to know: “What did they discuss?”
In a fiery letter to his Labour counterpart Annelies Dodds, Mr Hands raised concerns about the opposition’s relationship to the “extremist organisation”.
“I am concerned that Just Stop Oil’s dangerous stunts and protests seem to be influencing Labour policy making,” the Tory chief said.
“The Labour Party have taken £1.5 million in donations from the Bank of Just Stop Oil (Mr Dale Vince).
“Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have together taken £30,000 in personal donations from one of the protest group’s founder.”
Mr Vince this week repeated his support for the eco-protest group, which is causing mayhem on the streets.
He said: “People have to stand up and do something.”
The Labour donor vowed never to ditch his support for the radical group, even if Sir Keir wanted him to.
And he even offered to double the donation of anyone who gives money to Just Stop Oil in the next 48 hours.
Mr Vince said there was nothing wrong with bankrolling both Just Stop Oil — which wants a ban on new oil and gas licences in the North Sea — with the Labour Party set to formally adopt the policy in a major speech this month.
But now the Conservatives have demanded Sir Keir hands back the cash he donated to Labour.
“If you do not return this protest money the public will naturally assume that Labour and Just Stop Oil’s goals are one and the same,” Mr Hands wrote.
Labour have repeatedly refused to comment – but party insiders insist that “far from ‘backing extremist protests’ Keir has strongly condemned their actions on multiple occasions”.
They added it would be “false” to suggest otherwise.
The Labour leader previously said that Mr Vince “knows that nothing he donates to the Labour Party is going to affect my judgment on this.
“The fact he donates will not make a blind bit of difference to the tough line I take in relation to Just Stop Oil.”
