Questionable funding uncovered in the Al Gore UK High Court Case

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Update: This latest attack on Al Gore is at the hands of the “Scientific Alliance” – a group well-known to DeSmogBlog.

Busted? Looks like something fishy is going on with the funding behind the UK high court challenge against The Inconvenient Truth being viewed in schools.

The court case was brought forward by a “concerned parent” and “New Party” member Stewart Dimmock.

In a BBC Radio interview last night, Dimmock refused to divulge who fronted the 60,000 quid in court costs.

Here’s a partial transcript:

Host: Some people might wonder why you felt so strongly about this, that yu were prepared to take it all the way to the high courts, whether you have an agenda or sorts. Do you?

Dimmock: Well I have two young children and in my mind its wrong that we push politics into the classroom.

Host: Can I ask you one more question Mr. Dimmock. It’s not cheap taking a case to the high court.

Dimmock: No it’s not.

Host: Were you helped financially to do this?

Dimmock: The government have been ordered to pay my costs, I got 60,000 pounds up for payment.

Host: Ya, but you didn’t know that that was going to be the order until today did you?

Dimmock: No I didn’t.

Host: Who took the risk?

Dimmock: [long, long pause] uuummmmmm….. I’ve had pledges of support [another weird pause].

Host: May I ask you from whom?

Dimmock: You can ask from whom, but I’m sorry I can’t tell you. I haven’t got the names of the people that have pledged me support, it’s still a website.

Here’s the entire BBC radio spot, Dimmock starts squirming at about the 5 minute mark.

And most importantly, here’s the email address for Dimmock’s “New Party.” I would urge everyone to send an email demanding to know who paid for this effort.

Here’s what I sent:

Attn: Stewart Dimmock,

It was brought to my attention in a recent BBC Radio 4 interview that you have refused to divulge the funding sources for you court action to ban The Inconvenient Truth in UK schools.

As there has been a long history of attacks against the science of climate change sponsored by the fossil fuel industry, I am wondering if this is such a case. As someone with an obvious interest in participating in the public conversation on climate change, it would be imperative that you divulge any funding that you have received from the fossil fuel industry. This would absolve you of any criticism that your held views may constitute a conflict of interest.

I look forward to hearing back from you,

[email protected]

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Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmogBlog.

He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning.

Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks.

Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder.

Prior to DeSmogBlog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health.

In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications.

Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.

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