I’ve never lobbied Labour over Just Stop Oil, says donor

Mr Vince joined a protest in central London on Thursday

Labour donor Dale Vince says he has not spoken to Sir Keir Starmer about the activist group Just Stop Oil.

On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak accused "eco zealots" at Just Stop Oil of "writing Keir Starmer's energy policy".

Mr Vince, who has given £1.4m to the party, said he had never lobbied Labour, adding: "There's no link between my funding of Labour and my support for Just Stop Oil."

The group has been criticised for their tactics, including blocking roads.

Mr Vince, who owns green energy company Ecotricity, joined demonstrators on a slow-walk protest along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square in central London on Thursday.

The Labour leader has called the methods used by the protesters, which see traffic halted, "stupid" and said they put people's lives at risk.

Mr Vince said: "I understand his position and Labour's position, I respect it. I feel no conflict."

He said he had "never spoken to Keir Starmer or anyone else in the Labour party about Just Stop Oil or about the North Sea".

But he said he supported a parliamentary move designed to block the government from passing tougher measures against protest tactics employed by Just Stop Oil.

The move, called a fatal motion, is being led by Green Party peer Baroness Jenny Jones in the House of Lords on Tuesday.

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The government is seeking to toughen up laws against protest, with legislation laid alongside this year's Public Order Act giving the police powers to stop slow walking protests.

Now it is updating a law from 1986, by adding further measures which would allow police to impose restrictions on protests and processions that cause "more than a minor" hindrance to people's day-to-day activities.

When passing the 2023 law, peers had voted against the part of it which sought to give police similar powers and the fatal motion being brought by Baroness Jones seeks to block the government's new plan.

She needs the support of Labour and the Liberal Democrats to be successful, but Labour has instead tabled a "motion of regret" which is a statement of disapproval.

Labour's shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry said Labour believed that laws should only be voted down in the elected House of Commons.

Mr Vince said he supported Baroness Jones's move, saying: "The right to protest in our country is being eroded. The recent clampdown on protest, the new section 12 which the police used today to finally end the march… all of these are undemocratic.

"To go even further and say a walking protest is illegal - I think that's incredible. I think you have to ask yourself, where do we live right now, are we living in Russia or are we living in Britain?"

Oil and gas

The Labour party has pledged to block all new domestic oil and gas developments and has promised to invest in renewables if it wins power.

After unions raised concerns over potential job losses, Sir Keir said that existing North Sea projects would be able to continue until 2050, meaning "oil and gas will be part our energy mix for years to come".

Mr Sunak accused the Labour party of "putting ideology ahead of jobs, ahead of investment, and ahead of our energy security".

Mr Vince said he wouldn't stop funding Labour if Keir Starmer were to backtrack on his commitment over North Sea Oil.

Asked if he had become more of a problem than an asset to Labour, Mr Vince said: "I hope what I'm doing here [is] speaking out for Just Stop Oil and the millions of people that share their frustration...I hope that's not harming Labour, it's so vital Labour win the next election."

A spokeswoman for the Labour leader's office said: "Keir has been outspoken in his condemnation of Just Stop Oil who he believes have put lives and livelihoods at risk.

"The idea that they have influenced our policy is for the birds."