Corbyn ducks terror challenge

Labour leader refuses to say if he would authorise a drone strike in Syria to foil Manchester-style plot in UK

JEREMY CORBYN’S commitment to protecting the British public came under attack last night after he repeatedly refused to say whether he would launch a drone strike on terrorists plotting to bomb the UK.

Exactly a week after the Manchester suicide bombing, the Labour leader faced a hostile grilling on live television from voters who demanded to know why he should be “trusted” to tackle terrorism and whether he would “look the other way” rather than agree to military intervention in Syria.

Mr Corbyn refused to say if he would ever authorise a drone strike to kill a terrorist leader, claiming he could not answer “hypothetical” questions.

He also refused to say whether he would authorise a nuclear strike and accused Margaret Thatcher of “exploiting” the Falklands War.

He told a Sky News and Channel 4 studio audience he stood by previous comments that the killing of Osama bin Laden was a “tragedy”, as he should have been put on trial instead.

It was the first time in this election campaign Mr Corbyn and Theresa May have faced questions from a studio audience on live television. Both have refused to take part in head-to-head leaders’ debates. Mrs May and Mr Corbyn were questioned individually by voters, then Jeremy Paxman.

Mrs May was given a tough time by some voters, particularly over plans to fund social care through the so-called “dementia tax” and to means-test winter fuel payments.

She was heckled at one point by audience members when she said that Labour’s manifesto sums did not “add up”, as voters pointed out that the Conservative manifesto did not contain any costings at all.

However, she won applause when she said Britain would “have to” walk away from the EU without a Brexit deal if a bad deal was all that was on the table.

Labour went into the evening hoping that Mr Corbyn could close the gap on Mrs May, with some polls now indicating his party is just five percentage points behind the Conservatives. It was at one stage 24 per cent behind.

While Mrs May faced questions on public services and Brexit, the tone for Mr Corbyn was set by the first question he faced, which focused on his claims last week that British foreign policy was partly to blame for the Manchester terrorist attack.

Another voter, from Northern Ireland, asked him how, given his previous views about the IRA, he could be “trusted” to stop terrorism.

Mr Corbyn would not deny that he is personally in favour of scrapping the Trident nuclear deterrent, saying that Labour’s policy of maintaining it “is there in our manifesto because conference voted for it”.

Paxman asked Mr Corbyn whether he still felt that soldiers were sent to the Falklands War in 1982 to die in pursuit of a “Tory plot”.

He replied: “Margaret Thatcher made a great deal of the whole issue. I felt that she was exploiting the situation.” Mr Corbyn, a lifelong republican, was also forced to deny that he would abolish the monarchy.

One man, who described himself as a “proud Mancunian and small business owner” who was brought up in a Labour-voting family, asked: “Why have you made it impossible for me to vote Labour in this election with your ruthless, short-sighted policies,” such as increasing corporation tax and putting VAT on school fees.

On Brexit, Mr Corbyn when tackled on his refusal to set a net migration target, said “I’m not going to stand here and put a figure” on it.

JEREMY CORBYN last night said he would not make any promises to bring down immigration if he becomes Prime Minister and dodged a question about whether he would be willing to fire a nuclear weapon.

The Labour leader was also pressed about his plans to raise corporation tax and put VAT on public school fees, and whether he still believed in abolishing the monarchy.

Mr Corbyn defended the contribution of migrants to public services, including the NHS, and said Labour supported a policy of “managed migration”. He said migration “would probably not go up” if he became prime minister but added the UK needed to invest more in education and training.

Mr Corbyn failed to answer a direct question on whether as prime minister he would fire a nuclear warhead.

“I want to live in a world that’s free of the danger of a nuclear holocaust,” he said. “Any nuclear weapon used anywhere in the world is a disaster.”

Mr Corbyn said Labour would not freeze benefits but instead “uprate” them every year, risking throwing the party’s policy into confusion.

He rowed back on previous claims that he believed the Falklands War was a plot but justified his opposition, saying: “I did think it was important there should be a negotiated solution. Margaret Thatcher – I felt she was exploiting the situation.”

Asked how he would respond if had 20 minutes to decide whether to launch a drone strike against a terrorist, he said: “I would want to know the circumstances, the evidence and what would happen. And also what the effect would be on innocent civilians.”

He defended calling the death of Osama Bin Laden “a tragedy”, saying: “I think he should have been arrested and I think he should have been put on trial. I think the whole Afghan experience was a tragedy.”

Pressed on why he had described Hamas as friends, he said it was “inclusive language at a meeting in which I was promoting the idea of a two-state solution”.

Mr Corbyn dodged a question from Paxman on whether he still believed in abolishing the monarchy.

He said there is “nothing in there [the manifesto] because we’re not going to do it. I had a nice chat with the Queen. I don’t believe she should be brought into political conversation.”

Mr Corbyn was criticised by one audience member who said he had made it “impossible for me to vote Labour” because of his “ruthless policies” to put up corporation tax to 28 per cent, and VAT on school fees.

He replied: “This country is badly divided between the richest and the poorest. Tax down and the rich get richer – so many of our children are going to school hungry.” He added: “Recognise that we’re better off when everyone is better off.”

Mr Corbyn, who said he was “looking forward” to becoming prime minister, was pressed repeatedly about how he could be trusted to stop terror threats because he had “openly supported” the IRA in the past. He said he had held talks because he “wanted there to be a peace process”.

Mr Corbyn condemned the terrorist attacks in Manchester but said “nobody wants to see armed police anywhere”. Asked why he had linked the attacks to Britain’s foreign military operations, he said: “We want a foreign policy that didn’t leave large areas of the world ungoverned so we had a more secure future.”