Holocaust survivor warns Net Zero drive risks being “stained with the blood” of slave labour in China
A HOLOCAUST survivor has warned that Ed Miliband’s Net Zero drive risks being “stained with the blood” of slave labour in China.
Dorit Oliver-Wolff – who was forced to go into hiding from the Nazis in Yugoslavia aged 5 – has written to PM Keir Starmer urging him to intervene.
Solar panels being put on schools and hospitals are being made in China – which has been accused of using Uyghur forced labour.
MPs will this week try to change the GB Energy Bill so no UK cash goes to eco suppliers accused of using forced labour.
In an emotional appeal she said: “Today, I write with a heavy heart, urging you to take stronger action to tackle Uyghur forced labour
“And it is with the Great British Energy Bill that an unmissable opportunity is presented to your government – to show the world that the UK will not become a dumping ground for modern slavery.
“The renewable energy sector is stained with the blood of Uyghur forced labour.”
The 89 year-old watched her father get shipped off to Siberia as a slave labourer simply because he was Jewish – and never saw him again.
Pleading with the PM to heed the lessons of history, she added: “I have spent my life sharing my story, hoping that ‘never again’ would become more than a platitude.
“But I have seen how ‘never again’ too often means ‘again and again’.
“Now, we have the opportunity to change that. The UK’s energy transition must not come at the cost of human freedom, nor does it need to.
“The responsibility to ensure that it does not, lies in all of our, and now your and your government’s, hands.”
A UK Government spokesman said: “No industry in the UK should rely on forced labour.
“And through Great British Energy we have a clear plan to build the supply chains needed to support a new era of clean homegrown power, bringing jobs and investment.
“This is in addition to initiatives like the Clean Industry Bonus which will incentivise clean energy manufacturing and stronger domestic supply chains across our industrial heartlands.
“We are also working across government to tackle the issue of forced labour in solar supply chains, and the relaunched Solar Taskforce is focusing on developing supply chains that are resilient, sustainable and free from forced labour.”
Dorit Oliver-Wolff's letter to Keir Starmer in full
Here is the full, emotional, letter warning of the risk of using Uyghur slave labour in the dash for Net Zero
Dear Prime Minister,
I am Dorit Oliver Wolff BEM, and I am a Holocaust survivor. Today, I write with a heavy heart, urging you to take stronger action to tackle Uyghur forced labour, and it is with the Great British Energy Bill that an unmissable opportunity is presented to your government – to show the world that the UK will not become a dumping ground for modern slavery.
For over seventy years, I have fought for human dignity, justice, and the rights of all individuals, and I have spoken about the horrors I witnessed as a child. My own dear father was taken to Siberia as a slave labourer, simply because he was Jewish.
He never returned home. Yet, as I look at the world today, I am filled with a terrible dread – because the lessons of the past continue to be ignored.
Five years ago, I watched in horror as footage emerged of hundreds of blindfolded and shackled Uyghur men being forcibly transferred by train in Xinjiang.
Since then, mounting evidence has made it undeniable that the Uyghur people are victims of mass atrocity crimes, of which forced labour plays an intrinsic role. In 2021, alongside fellow Holocaust survivor Ruth Barnett MBE, I wrote to the Prime Minister pleading for urgent action. I am writing again because in the years since, nothing has changed – the suffering of the Uyghur people continues to be exploited.
The renewable energy sector is stained with the blood of Uyghur forced labour. Up to 97% of the world’s solar panels may contain polysilicon made in Xinjiang. Yet, companies still source from these suppliers, and the UK remains vulnerable to products tainted by forced labour.
On 5th September 2024, the Secretary of State for Business and Trade gave an “absolute assurance” that “no modern slavery” would be permitted in supply chains affecting UK goods.
On 29th October 2024, the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero affirmed that “no company in the UK should have forced labour in its supply chain.” Yet, these words will remain hollow unless they are followed through with decisive action.
I have spent my life sharing my story, hoping that “never again” would become more than a platitude. But I have seen how “never again” too often means “again and again”. Now, we have the opportunity to change that. The UK’s energy transition must not come at the cost of human freedom, nor does it need to. The responsibility to ensure that it does not, lies in all of our, and now your and your government’s, hands.
Thank you,
Dorit Oliver Wolff BEM