Outrage as Corbyn backs calls for PM to QUIT over police cuts
JEREMY Corbyn yesterday called for Theresa May to resign for presiding over police cuts during her years as Home Secretary.
The Labour leader sparked a furore as he attacked Mrs May over cuts which have left the police with 20,000 fewer officers than in 2010.
Only two days after the London Bridge terror attack, he said he was voicing the concerns of ‘very responsible people’ who were worried about her track record.
But he later said he was no longer calling for Mrs May to resign, and said she should wait until the general election on Thursday.
Last night he was accused of ‘misleading’ the public by former terrorism tsar, Lord Carlile, who said the cuts to community policing have got ‘ nothing to do with terrorism’.
Critics also pointed to Mr Corbyn’s history of helping terrorists.
Theresa May savaged him for his record, saying he failed to meet the ‘minimum requirement of the job of prime minister’.
She contrasted his record with her own, saying security was the ‘ number one priority for any prime minister’.
She added: ‘In this election there is one leader who has made it his life’s ambition to get rid of Trident, and one who is committed to keeping it. One leader who has boasted about opposing every single counter-terror law, and one who has been responsible for passing them.
‘One leader who has opposed the use of shoot-to-kill, and given cover to the IRA when they bombed and shot our citizens – and who now, in the midst of an election campaign, wants to do all he can to hide or deny those views.
‘That’s not leadership. It’s an abdication of leadership. It’s a failure to meet even the minimum requirement of the job of prime minister – to keep our country safe.’
Asked about Mr Corbyn’s claim that he would ‘consider’ requests from the security services for new powers, the Prime Minister added: ‘Just look at our different records – I increased powers to the police and security services, he boasted he had opposed every piece of antiterror legislation. I think that’s all people need to know.’
The farce began when Mr Corbyn was asked by ITV News if he backed calls for Mrs May to resign.
Mr Corbyn responded: ‘Indeed I would, because there’s been calls made by a lot of very responsible people on this who are very worried that she was at the Home Office for all this time, presided over these cuts in police numbers and is now saying that we have a problem.’
His comments followed those made on Twitter by Steve Hilton, David Cameron’s former policy adviser, who said she ‘should be resigning not seeking re-election’.
But in a fractious BBC interview hours later Mr Corbyn said he was no longer calling for Mrs May to resign, while insisting he wasn’t ‘backing away from anything’, add- ing: ‘There’s an election on Thursday, that’s the chance.’
Ministers pointed out that armed officers were on the scene of the atrocity within eight minutes.
Security minister Ben Wallace said: ‘For 30 years Corbyn has put his support for Britain’s opponents ahead of national security, yet days before polling day he cynically wants to fool voters into thinking he will keep Britain safe.’
Critics said that Mr Corbyn had
‘Cynically wants to fool voters’
boasted about spending a political lifetime blocking counter-terror laws – and voted 56 times against new powers. In 2011 the pacifist Labour leader told a Stop The War coalition conference: ‘I’ve been involved in opposing anti-terror legislation ever since I first went into Parliament in 1983.’
A damning dossier of his votes in Parliament, compiled by the Daily Mail yesterday, showed that if Mr Corbyn had had his way, membership of the IRA and Al Qaeda would still be lawful, police would be powerless to tackle extremists who ‘glorify’ terrorism and border officials would be powerless to stop Britons who travelled to fight with Islamic State from returning home.
In the aftermath of the Paris terrorist attack in 2015, Mr Corbyn said: ‘I’m not happy with a shoot-to-kill policy in general.’
But on Sunday, after eight armed officers fired 50 bullets to end the murderous rampage of three terrorists, he said officers should use ‘whatever force is necessary’.
Yesterday he denied he had changed his mind on the subject. ‘The criticisms that were made of me were I think wrong and unfair,’ he claimed.
On police cuts, he said he was ‘ articulating what is a deep anger amongst those people that have seen 20,000 police officers lose their jobs’.