I’m no pacifist .. but our best defence is to seek peaceful solutions to world problems
Corbyn says negotiation is key to keeping Britain safe in future
JEREMY Corbyn yesterday insisted he’s not a pacifist and would do “everything necessary” – including use nuclear weapons – to protect Britain’s security if he becomes prime minister.
The Labour leader – a former chairman of the Stop the War coalition – said the “bomb first, talk later” approach taken by the Tory government had failed.
He added: “The best defence for Britain is a government actively engaged in seeking peaceful solutions to the world’s problems.
“But I am not a pacifist. I accept that military action – under international law and as a genuine last resort – is in some circumstances necessary.
“But that is very far from the kind of unilateral wars and interventions that have almost become routine in recent times.”
Corbyn, who has previously said he would never authorise the use of nuclear weapons, said that if it ever were to emerge as a “real option” it would represent a “cataclysmic failure” by world leaders.
He said Labour were committed to Trident renewal and that he would “inherit” the Government’s decision, approved by MPs, to build a like-for-like replacement of the four submarines which carry the UK’s nuclear missiles.
Corbyn added: “I’m often asked if, as prime minister, I would order the use of nuclear weapons. It’s an extraordinary question. Would you order the indiscriminate killing of millions of people? Would you risk such extensive contamination of the planet that no life could exist across large parts of the world?
“If circumstances arose where that was a real option, it would represent complete and cataclysmic failure. It would mean world leaders had already triggered a spiral of catastrophe for humankind.”
In Inverness yesterday, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said: “Jeremy Corbyn should have the courage of his convictions on nuclear weapons.
“We need a sensible defence policy. We see defence policy sucking in billions of pounds on Trident at a time when our conventional defence forces see cut after cut.
“I want to see Trident scrapped not renewed, so we can have investment in our conventional forces.”