Ive never lobbied Labour over Just Stop Oil, says donor
BBC By Hannah Capella
BBC News
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".
