Top Labour MPs ignore Corbyn to meet Tories
JEREMY Corbyn faced a ferocious backlash yesterday after ordering labour MPs to snub Brexit talks with theresa May.
the labour leader prompted anger on Wednesday night when he refused the offer of talks in downing street to break the Brexit deadlock – unless Mrs May first ruled out the possibility of leaving without a deal.
yesterday he also ordered his party’s MPs not to engage with the Government unless his conditions were met.
He said: ‘I urge colleagues to respect the conditions (I have set) and refrain from engagement with the Government until No deal is taken off the table.’ the order led to the cancellation of talks between Brexit secretary steve Barclay and his labour counterpart sir Keir starmer.
But senior labour MPs yvette Cooper, Hilary Benn and stephen Kinnock defied their leader to meet Mrs May and senior ministers yesterday.
at a rally in Hastings, Mr Corbyn called the meetings a ‘stunt’.
Both tory and labour MPs pointed out his long and controversial history of sitting down with extremists who sympathise with terror groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah and the Ira.
referring to Mr Corbyn’s meetings with such figures, Mrs May said: ‘you have always believed in the importance of dialogue in politics. do you really believe that, as well as declining to meet me for talks yourself, it is right to ask your MPs not to seek a solution with the Government?’
Veteran labour MP Mike Gapes said: ‘Jeremy has been quite happy in the past to talk to Hamas, Hezbollah, the assad regime, the Iranians – all without preconditions.’
Former labour prime minister tony Blair said: ‘If, in a moment of national crisis, the Prime Minister asks the leader of the Opposition to come and talk, of course he should.’
In a letter to Mrs May yesterday, Mr Corbyn repeated his demand for No deal to be ruled out. He also said the PM would have to abandon her deal negotiated with the EU and scrap her negotiating red lines before he would consider any discussions.
Mrs May said she was ‘disappointed’ by his refusal to meet her without preconditions – an offer which had been taken up by the leaders of the SNP, liberal democrats, DUP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens.
she said there were only two ways to avoid No deal: ‘either to vote for a deal, in particular a Withdrawal agreement that has been agreed with the EU, or to revoke article 50 and overturn the referendum result.’