Keir Starmer told he must pay for damage caused by Just Stop Oil protest

Grant Shapps wrote to the Labour leader demanding he pays for the damages after eco-protesters sprayed the Department for Energy Security with orange paint.

Grant Shapps has written to Sir Keir Starmer demanding that he pays for the damage caused by Just Stop Oil when their activists attacked the Department for Energy Security.

Mr Shapps noted that the Labour Party has accepted £1.5million in donations from one of Just Stop Oil’s biggest donors, Dale Vince.

In his letter, the Secretary of State for Energy Security said: “I am writing to you to ask you to pay to repair the damage to the department. The British public should not have to foot the bill for your mates in Just Stop Oil.”

The eco-protesters sprayed orange paint over the department “demanding that the UK government immediately halts all new licences and consents for new oil, gas and coal projects”.

Mr Shapps claimed the damages are worth £3,000 to £4,000, adding: “We will send you the invoice”.

He continued: “Given your close connections with the group responsible for the damage, you must also be responsible for picking up the bill to clean up for them.”

Earlier this year, the Labour party faced pressure from Tory MPs to return the £1.5million in donations recieved by the party since 2014.

The Conservative Party’s Deputy Chairman Lee Anderson said the acceptance of the money is a “slap in the face to hardworking Brits trying to get on with their lives”.

Meanwhile, Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns said the general public are “tired of road blocks and disruptions”, adding: “Enough is enough.”

Mr Anderson told the Daily Express: “Starmer’s been caught orange-handed.

“Every day that Labour takes money from Dale Vince another ambulance is delayed, a hospital appointment is missed, a grieving relative can’t get to a funeral which proves this is a slap in the face to hardworking Brits trying to get on with their lives.

“Slippery Starmer should apologise and stop taking cash from eco-loonies bringing Britain to a halt.”

Meanwhile, Ms Jenkyns said: “Labour being bankrolled by groups that wish to have influence over the direction of policy in British society comes as no surprise, the unions have been doing it for decades.