Labour defends donations from Just Stop Oil backer Dale Vince

Labour has defended accepting donations from a backer of Just Stop Oil, saying it does not impact the party's views connected the run group.

Shadow curate Nick Thomas-Symonds said Dale Vince, a greenish vigor entrepreneur, was a "legitimate person" to instrumentality wealth from.

Mr Vince's institution has donated much than £1.4m to Labour since 2014.

Tory ministers person called for the donations to beryllium returned, arguing it legitimises Just Stop Oil's tactics.

Protests by the biology group, which wants the authorities to halt caller licenses for the exploration of lipid and different fossil fuels successful the UK, see blocking roads and disrupting sporting events.

Shadow planetary commercialized caput Nick Thomas-Symonds said Labour had been "extremely wide connected our views connected Just Stop Oil".

"What they are doing is wholly counterproductive and the lone statement it's provoking is astir our nationalist bid laws," helium told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

However, helium said Mr Vince, who founded greenish vigor institution Ecotricity and chairs League Two shot nine Forest Green Rovers, is simply a "successful businessman present successful the UK" and "a perfectly morganatic idiosyncratic to instrumentality wealth from".

"If helium wishes to springiness wealth to different causes that's up to him but it tin hardly beryllium said that this affects our views arsenic a Labour Party connected Just Stop Oil," helium added.

Labour person Sir Keir Starmer has antecedently described Just Stop Oil protesters arsenic "arrogant" and "wrong" and said his enactment would present strict sentences for those who artifact roads.

Mr Vince's institution Ecotricity has made respective ample donations to the Labour party, arsenic good arsenic to person Sir Keir, lawman person Angela Rayner and Manchester politician Andy Burnham.

The institution besides donated £70,000 to the Liberal Democrats successful 2015/16 and £30,000 to the Green Party successful 2013.

Mr Vince said alleged links betwixt Labour and Just Stop Oil were "a batch of fuss" and being concocted by ring-wing media, who helium called "desperate".

He told the BBC: "I don't privation to harm the origin - Labour's cause. I don't deliberation I americium either."

The entrepreneur confirmed helium had a telephone telephone with Sir Keir past week, which was their 2nd conversation.

He said Just Stop Oil had not travel up successful the speech but that helium would not halt backing the run radical adjacent if Labour asked him to.

Mr Hands suggested Labour had already "caved into demands" from Just Stop Oil by promising to halt caller North Sea lipid and state developments.

A Labour root told the BBC: "We are against the granting of caller licences for lipid and state successful the North Sea. They volition bash thing to chopped bills arsenic the Tories person acknowledged, they undermine our vigor security, and would thrust a manager and equine done our clime targets.

"But Labour would proceed to usage existing lipid and state wells implicit the coming decades and negociate them sustainably arsenic we alteration the UK into a cleanable vigor superpower."

The reports prompted concerns from unions astir the interaction connected jobs.

Sharon Graham, wide caput of Unite, Labour's biggest national backer, said Sir Keir had to make a "serious program for renewable energy" that protects jobs and communities.

"It is reckless successful the utmost to speech astir halting this manufacture without offering a coherent, afloat funded program for jobs," she added.

"Labour indispensable present beryllium precise wide that they volition not fto workers wage the terms for the modulation to renewable energy. When it comes to jobs we can't person jam tomorrow."

The caput of the GMB union, Gary Smith, told the Financial Times that "strangling" the North Sea lipid manufacture would beryllium "bad for jobs" and called connected Labour to scrap the plans.

Industry radical Offshore Energies UK said home accumulation of lipid and state avoided much costly and little unafraid overseas imports and that ending caller North Sea developments would endanger jobs and summation bills.