Labour is facing mounting questions over its relationship with one of its biggest donors after green energy tycoon Dale Vince sparked outrage by linking the Bondi Beach massacre in Australia to Israel’s actions in Gaza.
The controversy comes after Labour previously demanded that the Conservatives return a £150,000 donation from businessman Frank Hester following comments he made about Diane Abbott, even though those remarks emerged five years after the donation was given.
Now critics are asking whether Labour will return the £5.5 million it has received from Mr Vince, following what opponents have described as appalling remarks made in the immediate aftermath of the attack in Sydney.
At least 15 people were killed on Sunday when Jewish families celebrating Hanukkah were targeted on Bondi Beach. The youngest victim was a 10 year old girl named Matilda.
Within hours of the killings, Mr Vince posted a message on X in which he blamed Israeli leadership for fuelling anti Semitism.
He wrote: “Commenting on the shootings in Australia today Netanyahu said Antisemitism spreads when leaders stay silent. Nothing to do with Isreal committing Genocide in Palestine then. Netanyahu wants antisemitism to be a thing, it validates him he acts to make it so.”
Mr Vince, who donated more than £5 million to Labour last year, has since faced condemnation from across the political spectrum.
Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, called on Sir Keir Starmer to condemn Mr Vince, saying that silence from the Prime Minister would speak volumes.
She wrote: “Hours after the biggest massacre of Jews since Oct 7th, the Labour Party’s largest donor tweeted ‘Netanyahu wants antisemitism to be a thing’. A morally repugnant statement.”
Kevin Hollinrake, the Tory party chairman, branded the comments “disgraceful” and urged Labour to sever ties with the donor.
He wrote on X: “Any language that excuses or legitimises terrorism gives extremists cover and undermines our values. Labour must return all donations received from Mr Vince, refuse future ones, and make clear that terrorism has no moral ambiguity.”
Lord Walney, the cross bench peer and former government counter extremism tsar, also condemned the remarks.
He wrote: “Islamist terrorists often try to invoke whatever is the latest complaint about the government of Israel, but the victims on Bondi beach were killed for who they are as they came together to celebrate Hanukkah as Jewish people have been targeted through history. Time for Keir Starmer to cut ties with Mr Vince.”
On Monday, Mr Vince issued a statement insisting that he was not seeking to justify violence.
He said his comments were “not intended to excuse or legitimise terrorism, or any form of racism” and added: “What happened at Bondi beach is an atrocity.”
He continued: “My words are aimed at the intervention of Netanyahu who, in my opinion, overlooks the impacts of his own terrorism. If anti Semitism is rising in the world today, then surely on any rational analysis the biggest single cause of that will be the genocide in Palestine. I condemn all acts of violence and all forms of racism.”
Mr Vince founded the green energy company Ecotricity in 1995 and also set up the lab grown diamond firm Skydiamond. He owns the vegan football club Forest Green Rovers and has donated more than £5.5 million to Labour politicians since 2020. He is a prominent left wing activist online and has repeatedly pushed the Government to adopt more radical green policies.
Earlier this year he was criticised after hanging a 30 foot Palestinian flag from Ecotricity’s headquarters in Stroud.
Australian authorities have named Naveed Akram, 24, and his father Sajid Akram, 50, as the suspects responsible for the Bondi attack. Naveed Akram had previously been investigated over alleged links to Islamic State.
Australia’s spy agency and local police said he was “known” to them but was not considered an “immediate” threat.
Main Photo: Dale Vince with Jeremy Corbyn at Forest Green Rovers Football Club in December 2019. Source: Visiting Forest Green Rovers Football Club. Image zoomed in to fit screen. Photo source: Wikipedia. Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
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