Keir’s new eco boss called for fuel duty rise

THE BOSS of Sir Keir Starmer’s new publicly-owned clean energy company has called for a fuel duty increase, the Sun on Sunday can reveal.

Juergen Maier also praised London’s hated anti-driver Ulez policy and called for the UK to rejoin the EU’s Single Market.

The former chief executive of Siemens UK was this week unveiled as the head of Sir Keir’s state owned GB Energy company.

Rex Features

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Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho[/caption]

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Mr Maier fumed over Jeremy Hunt’s fuel freeze[/caption]

In March he slammed the Tory Government’s extension to the freeze on fuel duty in the Spring Budget.

He wrote on X: “Car fuel duty has now been frozen for 14 years. How is this compatible, with the necessity to move to low carbon and more public transport, for which costs have in that period been rising considerably?”

After a one X user told him people are struggling to survive and increasing fuel duty will “hurt many ordinary people”, he replied: “I disagree, done properly, and creating affordable public transport is progressive and helps the less well off.”

In the same month he slammed Brexit and called for the country to rejoin the EU’s Single Market.

And when Sadiq Khan’s hated Ulez levy was widely blamed for Labour’s failure to win the 2023 Uxbridge byelection, he defended the policy as “good”.

Shadow Energy Secretary Claire Coutinho told the Sun on Sunday: “We are one per cent of global emissions, we cannot heap costs on struggling families to deliver climate policy in Britain when other countries are polluting far more.

“Under Labour’s plans, all we’ll get are sky-high energy bills and businesses that are forced to move to places like China which are still run on coal. That’s bad for the climate, and a disaster for the British public.”

Sir Keir insisted that GB Energy will lead to energy bills falling by £300 a year per household by 2030.

Government sources said Mr Maier’s posts did not relate to issues he will be working on in the role.

And they said the only way to guarantee our energy security and protect bill payers permanently is to speed up the transition away from fossil fuels and towards home-grown clean energy.