Now Corbyn backs down over scrapping Trident deterrent

JEREMY CORBYN has been forced to row back from his fierce opposition to Britain’s nuclear deterrent i n yet another U-turn.

The Labour leader, a veteran of the nuclear disarmament movement, said earlier this week that he did not wish his party to vote for the renewal of the Trident missile system next year.

But last night it was clear he had backed down after appointing a defence team who have vowed to oppose him and vote for upgrading Britain’s nuclear defences.

Mr Corbyn asked Kevan Jones to continue as Armed Forces spokesman and appointed Blairite MP Toby Perkins to his defence team. Both back Trident renewal.

Senior figures in his team have urged him to put his opposition to Trident on the backburner and prioritise issues which can unify the party such as opposing austerity and welfare cuts. The cost of renewing Trident is estimated at £25billion over 50 years.

Mr Corbyn, who struggled to appoint a defence spokesman due to his views, has campaigned against all nuclear weapons for decades and said he would never renew Trident if he were in No 10.

But he has now accepted that Labour MPs are not willing to resist the Tories’ plan to vote it through next year.

His shadow defence spokesman Maria Eagle, who was appointed on Monday, voted in favour of replacing Trident in 2007 and 2015. She also voted for the Iraq war in 2003 and has voted more often than not for Britain to engage in military intervention. Mr Jones, who also served under Ed Miliband, told MailOnline he agreed to stay only after making it clear he would not oppose Trident.

‘Jeremy knows my position on Trident renewal,’ he said. ‘I reinforced that position before accepting the post. We disagree but we accept each other’s position.’

Mr Perkins is also planning to vote for Trident renewal, while former defence minister Lord Touhig, who has also been appointed, has consistently voted for it.

It has been a week of U-turns for Mr Corbyn in which he conceded his party will campaign to stay in the EU regardless of David Cameron’s renegotiation. He had indicated he would consider a British exit.

He also agreed to sing the national anthem in future, after standing in silence during Battle of Britain commemorations.