Corbyn’s lies

Three years ago this month, the JC carried on its front page a series of questions for Jeremy Corbyn. At the time he was the runaway front runner for the Labour leadership, but there had been very little scrutiny of his career-long record of allying with and defending antisemites and terrorists. Over the past three years, Mr Corbyn’s response to those questions, and to the many others asked since, has been the same. At best he obfuscates; at other times he simply ignores the issue.

Even when he is forced to confront his own behaviour, as with the antisemitic mural he defended, his words are patently insincere since he refuses ever to offer more than cursory statements of supposed explanation. At no point has he ever attempted to explain why his political world-view has led him into such unsavoury alliances.

This week, however, has marked a new low. The story of his participation in a ceremony honouring the terrorists behind the Munich Olympics massacre is old; what is new are the pictures. Not only do they illustrate far more vividly the event itself, they also show that Mr Corbyn has – and there is no other word for it – lied about his involvement. He stood over a plaque commemorating those behind the massacre with a wreath intended to honour those men.

It has hardly been a secret until now that the man who could well be our next Prime Minister was happy to pay tribute to terrorists. But this week no one can be in any doubt.

From now on anyone who defends his leadership of the Labour Party is demonstrably defending a man who allies with terrorists — and then lies if it becomes an embarrassment.

There are many fine Labour MPs who are horrified at being tarred with his brush. But the plain fact is that as long as they continue to take the Labour whip they will be — and will deserve to be. They must act or forever be damned.