The prime minister has accused Sir Keir Starmer of “slavishly supporting” Just Stop Oil ahead of an emergency summit with major sporting bodies and police which he and his home secretary Suella Braverman are set to attend.
The accusation, which came in an op-ed for The Sun newspaper, comes after Mr Sunak attended the Ashes at the weekend which was disrupted by Just Stop Oil protesters.
Event organisers and national sporting bodies will now meet Ms Braverman and culture secretary Lucy Frazer on Wednesday to discuss the disruption.
It comes as ministers fear further “guerrilla protests” will follow the action seen last week at the Ashes — and earlier at the Chelsea Flower Show. In the coming weeks, Wimbledon, the British Grand Prix and three more Ashes Tests are expected to be targetted.
Writing in The Sun, Mr Sunak urged event organisers to channel the spirit of England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, who “coolly carried away a Just Stop Oil eco-zealot”.
The prime minister writes: “The most memorable moment in the match had come on the first morning when England’s Jonny Bairstow coolly carried away a Just Stop Oil eco-zealot who had run on to the pitch hoping to disrupt the match”.
He criticised Just Stop Oil’s tactics and goals, adding: “If they got their way life would be truly miserable. Extinction Rebellion, for instance, demands we achieve net zero by 2025. That would destroy entire industries, cripple the NHS, throw millions out of work and paralyse the electricity system”.
“We will achieve a net zero economy — but not in a way that kills jobs, and over a period of time, not overnight”, he added,
Ahead of the government’s summit of sporting bodies and police chiefs, Mr Sunak said they will “discuss further ways we can reduce the chances of people’s enjoyment being ruined”.
Criticising Labour’s stance, the PM said: “Of course, Labour voted against these measures [legislation aimed at preventing disruptive protests] at every turn. Officially, Sir Keir Starmer claims to condemn the eco-warriors. But as usual he is saying one thing and doing another”.
The Public Order Act, to which Mr Sunak refers, came under controversy during its passage through parliament over its implications for the freedom of assembly and speech.
Eventually, the Public Order Act became law in the days leading up to the coronation and includes new criminal offences designed by the government to deal with protests it sees as disruptive. Its powers were used to justify the arrest of republican protesters who planned to placard on the day of the coronation, although police subsequently apologised.
“This all comes down to values”, Mr Sunak continues in The Sun, “What Sir Keir’s slavish support for Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion’s policies tells me is Labour’s priorities and values are different from mine. And, I think, from most of the country’s”.
Labour has consistently said it disagrees with Just Stop Oil’s tactics, but has been criticised by Conservative representatives for welcoming donations from their financial backer Dale Vince.
Mr Vince, who set up Ecotricity and is chairman of Forest Green Rovers, has donated roughly £1.5m to the Labour Party in the past decade, according to Sky News and Tortoise Media’s Westminster Accounts tool.
Last month, the home secretary Ms Braverman questioned whether Sir Keir was going “soft on crime” as a result of receiving the money from Vince. “He had the cheek to claim Labour is no longer the party of protest this year — the reality is he’s in bed with their donors”, she told the Telegraph.
Conservative party chairman Greg Hands has repeatedly called for Keir Starmer to return the money from Mr Vince.
In a letter to the Labour party chair, Anneliese Dodds last month, Mr Hands highlighted how Labour had voted against legislation to crack down on disruptive protests. “I am calling on you to return these donations”, he wrote.
