Labour MP accuses Corbyn of lies over attitude to Moscow

JEREMY Corbyn was accused of lying by one of his own MPs last night after he claimed to have been ‘a robust critic’ of Russia for more than 20 years.

Amid angry scenes in the Commons, Labour MP John Woodcock told his party leader it was ‘just not true’ that he had opposed the actions of Vladimir Putin’s regime.

Mr Woodcock’s intervention led to a furious rebuke from Corbyn ally Chris Williamson.

And it prompted one Tory MP to start whistling the Russian national anthem in mockery of Mr Corbyn – earning another rebuke from

Commons deputy speaker Eleanor Laing. The row erupted after Mr Corbyn told MPs he had criticised Moscow in the past over issues such as gay rights and Chechnya, adding: ‘I have been a robust critics of the actions of the Russian government for more than 20 years.’

The claim sparked an outbreak of mocking laughter from Tory MPs. And it prompted an angry intervention from Mr Woodcock, who told his leader: ‘I cannot let that remark go by.’ He added: ‘I have sat here reading his article in the Morning Star after Russia annexed part of the Ukraine, where the strongest criticism he makes is “On Ukraine I would not condone Russian behaviour, but it is not unprovoked...” and then into the usual criticism of the US and Nato and UK policy. It is just not true.’

In a sarcastic reply, Mr Corbyn told his colleague: ‘Thank you very much.’

The Labour leader has faced intense criticism from all sides for his refusal to accept British intelligence linking the Kremlin to the Salisbury attack on former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Yesterday he tried to soften his stance, saying now accepted that the attack involved a nerve agent ‘of a type manufactured by Russia’, and he acknowledged that Moscow had failed to offer a ‘plausible explanation’ for how the Novichok agent came to be used.

But he stopped short of blaming the Russian state for direct responsibility, saying: ‘There is clear evidence that the Russian state has a case to answer and that they’ve failed to do so and we can therefore draw no other conclusion other than Russia has a direct or indirect responsibility for this.’

Mr Corbyn’s apparent shift satisfied some backbench Labour critics.

But he refused three times to answer Tory requests to point the finger directly at Russia. Mr Corbyn said he now supports the Government’s response to the attack, but he called on ministers to engage in a ‘constructive and robust dialogue’ with the Kremlin. And he said it was possible the two countries could be ‘allies again’ in the future.