Britain’s former Brexit negotiator has claimed “we’re not in a climate crisis” as he joined the board of a controversial climate sceptic group.
Lord Frost - who was until recently in the Cabinet - accused climate protesters of being “hysterical” and said there is no “climate emergency”.
The former whisky publicist, who Boris Johnson hand-picked to put in the Lords as his Brexit chief, today joined the board of the Global Warming Policy Foundation.
The think tank's website has stated there is “little evidence of changes in extreme weather trends” and said climate change policies “may be doing more harm than good”.
It is based at 55 Tufton Street, the home of a string of other free-marketeer think tanks with links to Liz Truss ’s ill-fated spell as PM.
The Labour MP Clive Lewis has accused the organisation of pursuing “one-sided, political lobbying downplaying the climate crisis.”
He was among MPs last month who submitted a complaint to the Charity Commission asking it to investigate activities by GWPF’s “subsidiary” Net Zero Watch.
GWPF hit back that they are “separate organisations” and said any non-charitable activities are not funded by charitable donations.
It has added any "attack on the academic credibility of the foundation’s publications is unfounded".
Mr Lewis said “in some ways I welcome” Lord Frost’s declaration as “it clears the air and gives voters a clear voice between those politicians who are going to do what’s required and those who aren’t.”
He said: “Most people can see the reality already - we can see the impact of the climate crisis in food prices. The cost of living crisis is the climate crisis.”
It comes after Keir Starmer accused Rishi Sunak of spending “weeks flirting with the climate change deniers in his party” before “scuttling off” to the COP27 climate summit “at the last minute”.
Labour’s leader demanded the PM tighten his windfall tax on oil and gas giants after Shell did not pay a penny of it, despite “record profits this year of £26billion.”
Shadow Climate Secretary Ed Miliband tweeted: "Rishi Sunak is a fossil fuel PM who had to be dragged to COP27.
"Keir Starmer will make Britain a clean energy superpower.
"Higher bills, climate delay under the Tories. Lower bills, energy security, climate leadership with Labour. That is the choice at the next election."
Defending his decision, Lord Frost said there needed to be “full and frank debate” and an “objective view of what is going on”.
He told “anti-woke” TV station GB News: “In my view we’re not in a climate emergency or a climate crisis in the very hysterical way some people want to suggest.
“But we do have a problem. And the way to tackle that is to adapt and to be serious about the kind of energy supplies we are trying to develop.
“But my worry is that we’re rushing this, trying to do too much too quickly, the technologies aren’t yet available and we’re running into problems.”
Former Tory Chancellor Nigel Lawson, who founded the group, said: “I warmly welcome David Frost to the GWPF board. He is a man of great experience and achievement who will further strengthen our already strong team.”
