The financier and environmentalist, who is on Defra’s board, apologized after criticizing Labor’s strong stance against the Just Stop Oil protests, in which activists have blocked fuel distribution terminals. He said he did not intend to resign. Goldsmith, the minister’s brother and peer Jacques, wrote on Twitter: “It’s not a good look from Labor. The protesters are right to do whatever it takes to wake up the world. The fossil fuel industry is dirty and dangerous. We need to break free from our addiction as soon as possible. I’m with Extinction Rebellion. “ Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed responded: “This by a Conservative official is an insult to people facing misery trying to get to work. “While the government continues to refuse to act, the Labor Party immediately demanded orders to stop this unrest.” Another Conservative MP called for Goldsmith to resign from his posts at Defra and CEN. Chris Loder, a West Dorset MP and CEN member, said: “Ben Goldsmith intervenes inappropriately in political matters when he is director of Defra, hanging from his brother’s coats. “He must either resign and run for office or be fired.” He threatened to resign from CEN, which was founded by Goldsmith, if the funder was still a member by the end of the day. The Conservative group includes 133 lawmakers, half of whom are Tory supporters. Others who have criticized Goldsmith’s tweet include Fay Jones, Brecon and Radnorshire MPs, and former Cabinet Secretary Damian Green, both of whom are members of a conservative WhatsApp group. In a message of apology to CEN lawmakers, Goldsmith said: “This morning I wrote on Twitter my personal sympathy for the demonstrations of the Uprising of the Elimination. ER support is neither CEN nor Defra position. Therefore, I have revoked these tweets. “I recognize the upheaval that these protests are causing in people’s lives and livelihoods. I have always in the past publicly opposed the controversial and often annoying methods used by the ER. That said, I know I’re not the only one feeling a growing panic as the science in question becomes more and more bleak. “Awareness and action are not commensurate with the scale of the issue, even if we in the United Kingdom are now world leaders.” A government source said: “Ben expressed a personal view, not that of the government. People have the right to protest and the issue of climate change is very important. That is why we are taking such ambitious steps to tackle it. But these XR protests are not peaceful protests, they are disrupting people’s lives and they are completely unacceptable. That is why the government is taking strong measures to stop them. “
