Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner has accused the Government of going "cap in hand from one dictator to another" by asking Saudi Arabia to produce more oil following the move to divest from Russian fossil fuels.
Ms Rayner said the UK should not “be at the mercy of a foreign dictator” for its energy supplies.
“The government has had years to end their reliance on foreign oil… now we are reliant on another foreign dictator to keep the pumps open,” she told the House of Commons at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday.
Responding, deputy prime minister Dominic Raab claimed that former Labour leadr Jeremy Corbyn had “sided with Putin” in the past, and quoted Ms Rayner’s past words that Mr Corbyn was a “very strong leader”.
The prime minister is currently in Riyadh meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman for talks over increasing exports of oil to the UK.
It comes after the import of Russian oil and gas is set to be banned by the end of the year in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
