Dale Vince, the owner of Ecotricity and Forest Green Rovers football club, has donated thousands of pounds to the Labour party.

Through Ecotricity, he has given £360,000 to the party since the last election, as reported by the Daily Mail.

The businessman, who threw his weight behind Labour's David Drew to become MP for Stroud at the last general election in 2019, said he has given the cash to help Labour win, so they: "have the chance to deliver their agenda, which is my agenda, social justice and a green economy".

It is reported that he also gave Sir Keir Starmer £20,000 for his 2020 leadership bid and £10,000 to Labour's deputy leader, Angela Rayner.

Mr Vince said he thinks Sir Keir would be 'a great prime minister'.

Mr Vince is also one of the biggest backers of campaign group, Just Stop Oil, donating tens of thousands of pounds to launch the group and more when it ran into financial difficulties.

Sir Keir has publicly criticised the group for its protests, which have included activists gluing themselves to roads and attacking works of art in galleries.

Mr Vince said he sometimes disagrees with Just Stop Oil's tactics, but understands 'why they do what they do' and doesn't have a problem with it, as long as it is non-violent.

Labour is calling for greater use of injunctions for protestors who cause disruption and drawing up plans to hit activists with stiffer sentences if it gets into power.