Streeting condemns Labour donor's Bondi attack remarks

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has condemned comments by Labour donor Dale Vince made after Sunday's attack on a Jewish festival in Australia.

Mr Vince wrote after the shooting on Bondi Beach that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "wants antisemitism to be a thing, it validates him".

The Conservatives have called the green energy businessman's remarks "morally repugnant" and called on Labour to return his previous donations.

Streeting called the comments "completely wrong", but refused to be drawn on whether Labour should accept future donations from him.

Mr Vince has given more than £5.7m to Labour since 2020, mainly through his green energy company Ecotricity, which he founded in the 1990s.

According to donation transparency records, his company has not donated to Labour since last year's general election. It did however give £15,000 towards Lucy Powell's successful campaign for the Labour deputy leadership this autumn.

Mr Vince had been responding to Netanyahu's claims that the Australian government had failed to do enough to stop antisemitism in the run-up to the attack on a Hanukkah event on Sydney's Bondi Beach.

In a social media post on Sunday, he wrote: "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."

Israel has denied claims it is committing genocide in Gaza, allegations that are set to be examined by the International Court of Justice.

In a follow-up post on Monday, Mr Vince said he had not intended to "excuse or legitimise terrorism, or any form of racism", adding that "what happened at Bondi beach is an atrocity".

He added that his previous comments were "aimed at the intervention of Netanyahu who in my opinion overlooks the impacts of his own terrorism".

Asked about the comments on BBC Newsnight on Monday, Streeting said: "I do think those comments were completely wrong."

"However strongly one might feel about what's going on in Israel and Palestine, that is no excuse to support, or to condone, or to suggest that antisemitism is caused by the actions of Israel," he added.

"Dale Vince should reflect on, not just the backlash, but actually the pain that's been felt by Jewish people reading those comments, including Jewish members of the Labour Party."

However, he declined to say whether Labour should accept future donations from the businessman, adding that was a decision for Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Hollie Ridley, the party's general secretary.

Speaking on Tuesday, Health Minister Stephen Kinnock said Vince should apologise for the comments, suggesting the party would assess future donations in light of his response.

"I think he should apologise for that tweet, and then you know, in terms of his support for the Labour Party, let's see," he told LBC radio.

"Let's ensure that he apologises, and I think we can review the position and take a decision on that basis."

Mr Vince is a prolific political donor, having previously given money to the Green Party of England and Wales, the Liberal Democrats and the Just Stop Oil group.