Boris Johnson going from 'dictator to dictator' instead of having an energy strategy, says Keir Starmer

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of “going cap in hand from dictator to dictator,” as the Prime Minister flew to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to seek alternatives to Russian oil supplies.MPs and human rights watchdogs are among those calling on the Prime Minister to question the Middle Eastern countries on their track records, with Saudi Arabia executing 81 criminals on Saturday.Starmer stopped short of calling for Johnson to cancel his trip to persuade the Saudis to increase oil production to decrease western dependence on Russian energy supplies.

The Labour leader said: “Obviously there’s a real energy crisis in terms of the cost at the moment, so anything that brings the cost down now is a step in the right direction, whatever it is.”“But going cap in hand from dictator to dictator is not an energy strategy”.He accused the government of a short term, “slapdash” approach to tackling the energy crisis.“There’s a pattern here which is short term, in the heat of the moment, slapdash.

And that’s what happened in Afghanistan in August. The government was too slow to act; it was only in the heat of the moment it started acting, and then we all saw the consequences in August.“It’s the same with refugees here, in terms of slow, behind the curve, in the heat of the moment – and in terms of energy, which is a shot term, slapdash approach instead of a long-term strategy.”Starmer said instead of pursuing more supplies from Saudi Arabia, Johnson could bring down energy prices by implementing Labour’s plan to levy a windfall tax on oil producers.Johnson downplayed his chances of managing to secure greater oil production from the Middle East in an attempt to lessen the severity of the cost of living crisis facing