STASI ‘INFILTRATED CORBYN PEACE GROUP’
JEREMY Corbyn ran an activist group that was infiltrated by Communist spies, according to secret files.
East German agents targeted Labour Action for Peace in the 1980s because its members shared their anti-American and anti-Nato views, a classified Stasi dossier claims.
Operatives were also tasked with convincing Labour MPs in the group to back the Communist state’s policies, it claims.
Mr Corbyn was an officer and vice president of the LAP in the 1980s, attending meetings and writing pamphlets, according to website Guido Fawkes which unearthed the document.
He later became president of the group, which opposed Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent during the Cold War.
The Stasi took an interest in the group because its members were sympathetic to many of the views of Communist governments, the file says. The dossier said: ‘The position of leading representatives of the LAP coincides with that of the socialist countries: The blame for the escalation of the nuclear arms race is borne by the US and its Nato allies.’
A report from February 1987 about an LAP delegation’s visit to East Germany concluded: ‘The main objective of the mission is to further consolidate the traditionally good relations with the LAP.’
It said Labour MPs within the group showed interest in an East German plan to create a chemical-free zone within Europe. The file also noted that the ‘activity of the LAP’ was of ‘special importance’ ahead of Labour’s annual conference, when the country was preparing for an election campaign.
Asked if Mr Corbyn was aware that the LAP had been infiltrated by East German spies, his spokesman said: ‘No.’ He added: ‘Jeremy has not been aware of who has been an undercover officer working for any intelligence agency.’
Founded in 1940, the LAP has previously been linked to allegations of espionage for Communist states.
Cynthia Roberts, who ran the group and stood as a Labour Parliamentary candidate, allegedly spied for the Czech government when it was a satellite Soviet state.
In 2008 it emerged that Czech files claimed she wrote secret dossiers for the communist regime on Tory politicians after moving to Prague in 1985.
Mr Corbyn said at the time: ‘I don’t know Cynthia Roberts at all. Of course I’m surprised. This was long before I was involved in the organisation.’