Sir Keir Starmer and Labour have received hundreds of thousands of pounds from a multimillionaire who also funds Just Stop Oil.
Dale Vince, who owns the electricity company Ecotricity, has given to both causes, even though Starmer has criticised the activist group.
Since the last election, The Times claims that Ecotricity has given Labour £360,000.
Vince’s company gave Starmer £20,000 when he was running for the leadership in 2020 and £10,000 to Angela Rayner, his deputy, last October.
Asked about Just Stop Oil last year, Starmer said he backed the government’s plans to impose tough sentences on climate protesters who blocked roads. He said: “I think it’s arrogant of those glueing themselves to the road to think they’re the only people that have got the answer to this. They haven’t got the answer.
“I don’t know how they can look in the eye the families who’ve got someone in the back of an ambulance. They certainly wouldn’t be able to look me in the eye if it was my mum.”
Vince said he had given Just Stop Oil “tens of thousands, probably” to “help them get started”, having done the same for Extinction Rebellion.
Defending their disruptive tactics, Vince said: “We reach a point where taking to the streets is really all we’ve got. Most people have no power to change what’s happening, and we can see the direction of travel is a disastrous one. So I understand why organisations like that do the things that they do.”
Meanwhile, Ed Miliband has promised that Labour’s next manifesto would be the strongest ever on climate change, as he accused Rishi Sunak of being silent on environmental challenges.
Speaking at the launch of a new pro-environment group, the Labour Climate and Environment Forum, the former party leader said the prime minister “doesn’t get” green issues".