Labour leader happy to meet controversial names

Jeremy Corbyn has taken an uncompromising approach with the Prime Minister on Brexit, but he has spent his political career extolling the virtues of “dialogue” when meeting with controversial groups.

1984 He met Linda Quigley and Gerard Mcloughlin, convicted IRA members, in Parliament weeks after the Brighton bombing. He later said: “I always made the point that there had to be a dialogue and a peace process.”

1986-92 For seven years at the height of the IRA’S “armed struggle” he attended republican commemorations. He said: “You have to talk to people with whom you don’t agree. And I did.”

2009 Mr Corbyn spoke at an event for Palestinian Solidarity, and said it would be his “honour” to host “friends from Hizbollah” and Hamas. He later expressed regret, but added: “It was about encouraging … there to be a discussion about the peace process.”

2012 Mr Corbyn attended an event with a Hamas leader jailed over attacks in Israel that killed more than 100 people. A spokesman said: “Jeremy has a long and principled record of … engaging with actors in the conflict to support peace and justice.”

2014 He was pictured in Tunisia appearing to lay wreaths close to the graves of four men linked to the 1972 Munich attack. He said he was there to pay his respects to Palestinians killed in an Israeli bombing, adding: “The only way you can pursue peace [is] by a cycle of dialogue.”

2016 At the height of Isil terror in Syria, Mr Corbyn suggested that the Government open a diplomatic back-channel to its leaders in an bid to find a political solution.

2018 In the aftermath of the Salisbury attack by Russian military officers, Mr Corbyn said: “Would I do business with Putin? Sure. And I’d challenge him on human rights.” Harry Yorke