Home Secretary Suella Braverman has said Keir Starmer must sack his top advisor, and shadow ministers, after leaked emails revealed she held secret talks with Just Stop Oil.
The revelation comes despite Sir Keir saying the group is “riddled with arrogance” and his shadow chancellor said she had “no time” for the organisation and its hated tactics.
Last night the Mail on Sunday revealed his parliamentary private secretary, Jess Morden, offered Just Stop Oil the opportunity to “come in and chat”, with activists claiming she was “trying to sell us on how Labour is still driven” by environmental issues.
The group has already praised Labour’s pledge to ban new North Sea oil and gas, and one of its key funders, Dale Vince, has also given Labour £1.5million over the past several years.
Now Suella Braverman has said the leaked messages prove Sir Keir’s top Commons aide “certainly appears to have time for Just Stop Oil”.
The Home Secretary has demanded the opposition leader immediately sacks Jess Morden MP as his PPS, as well as “all your other frontbenchers” who “have expressed sympathy with JSO or Extinction Rebellion”.
She names both former Labour leader Ed Miliband – Sir Keir’s shadow minister for Net Zero – and Kerry McCarthy MP – shadow minister for climate change – as those who must be given the chop if the Labour leader holds out any hope of regaining the public’s trust on opposing the climate extremists.
“I appeal to you now to stop, in your own words, bowing to fringe lobbies and extremists. I appeal to you to behave in the same way both in public and in private.
“That must mean sacking Jess Morden MP and all your other frontbenchers, such as Ed Miliband MP and Kerry McCarthy MP, who have expressed sympathy with JSO or Extinction Rebellion.
“It must mean abandoning your ruinous plans to end new oil and gas licences, and supporting our measures to stop JSO street-blockers.
“And it must mean ordering all officeholders in your party, including your government in Wales, to end contact with the extremist groups.
Ms Braverman clearly doesn’t expect Sir Keir to show willingness to act, signing off her letter: “I look forward to hearing from you – though perhaps more in hope than in anticipation”.
“It is increasingly clear to me, and to the country, that Labour under your leadership has become the political wing of Just Stop Oil”.
The Conservatives are clearly hoping to make strong opposition to Just Stop Oil and similar groups a key dividing line at the next election.
Following their Friday night invasion of the Proms and Channel 4, Net Zero secretary Grant Shapps tweeted: “Let me be absolutely clear:
- I am not just stopping oil
- I am not putting 213,000 people out of work
- I am not giving Putin the power to blackmail Britain
- I am not surrendering billions in tax that funds our NHS
So just stop.”
Labour was approached for comment.
