Labour f ilm director branded a hypocrite

THE director of a ‘rebuilding Britain’ party political broadcast feted at last week’s party’s conference was accused of hypocrisy last night for also making a video for a Saudi oil firm.

Simon Baker was the toast of party activists for his three-minute ‘Our Town’ film showing how Labour would regenerate neglected parts of the UK.

But the award-winning director, who runs a fervently pro-Corbyn Twitter account, has come under fire for also making a glossy promotional video for state-owned Saudi Arabian firm Saudi Aramco.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has repeatedly singled out the oil-rich Gulf state for criticism, only last week lambasting Theresa May in his party conference speech for colluding with the Saudi regime and its war in Yemen.

Tory MP David Morris said: ‘This is classic hypocrisy from Labour. Criticise the Government for dealing with Saudi Arabia, but get their party videos made by a director who works with the Saudis. Yet again, when it comes to Labour, it’s do as we say, not as we do.’

Asked if he was guilty of hypocrisy last night, Mr Baker said: ‘Not really.’ He added that he made the film for Aramco in 2010, five years before the war in Yemen began.

Embarrassingly for Mr Baker, Corbyn also devoted much of his conference speech to pledging to kick-start a ‘green jobs revolution’ with thousands more windfarms and a solar panel on every ‘viable roof’ .

Mr Baker denied his work for oil firm Aramco flew in the face of Mr Corbyn’s policies, saying: ‘Aramco themselves are doing a lot to promote green energy.’