Corbyn faces revolt for saying he deserved trial
JEREMY Corbyn sparked a row within his own party last night after complaining that Jihadi John should have been put on trial. Labour MPs were in open revolt over the remarks and Mr Corbyn’s own defence spokesman dismissed the idea that the Islamic State executioner could have been captured and brought to court.
Defence and security experts also ridiculed the idea that Mohammed Emwazi could have been taken alive. The Labour leader’s complaint was the same made yesterday by the CAGE prisoners group, which sparked outrage earlier this year by calling Emwazi a ‘beautiful young man’.
Two years ago Mr Corbyn described drone attacks as an ‘obscenity’ and ‘the ultimate in sanitised warfare’.
Labour’s statement from Mr Corbyn was issued yesterday at 12.30pm, nine hours after news of the drone strike broke.
Mr Corbyn said: ‘It appears Mohammed Emwazi has been held to account for his callous and brutal crimes. However, it would have been far better for us all if he had been held to account in a court of law. These events only underline the necessity of accelerating international efforts, under the auspices of the UN, to bring an end to the Syrian conflict as part of a comprehensive regional settlement.’
The comments sparked immediate ridicule. Labour MP Ian Austin, a former frontbencher, wrote on Twitter: ‘Look, why couldn’t the police just go and arrest Emwazi? It’s not as if it’s a really dangerous war zone and I’m sure he’d have come quietly. How do people who think Emwazi should have been put on trial think this could have happened, and how many others would he kill in the meantime?’
Kevan Jones, Labour defence spokesman, said: ‘In an ideal world putting him on trial would possibly be an option. Unfortunately we don’t live in an ideal world, and I think most people would agree that a world without him is a better place.’
John Woodcock, who chairs the defence committee of Labour MPs, said: ‘The public will be relieved that Mohammed Emwazi is no longer able to commit sickening war crimes for his masters to broadcast around the world.’
Speaking from a refugee camp in the Kurdish region of Iraq he said: ‘Emwazi chose to become a killer in a conflict zone and his death sends a clear message to brainwashed Brits thinking of joining the extremists’ campaign of terror.’
Lord West, ex-Labour minister and former first sea lord, said it was ‘impractical’ to capture Jihadi John and put him on trial.
Professor Anthony Glees, a terror expert at Buckingham University, said Mr Corbyn’s remarks were ‘ridiculous and disingenuous’.
Mr Corbyn’s comments echo those he made after the killing of Osama Bin Laden in 2011. He said shooting the Al Qaeda leader rather than putting him on trial was a ‘tragedy upon a tragedy’ – after the World Trade Center attacks and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.