UK’S Trident nuclear deterrent would be immediately reviewed, says Corbyn

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn indicated he could still ditch the renewal of the UK’S Clydebased Trident nuclear deterrent if he becomes Prime Minister.

The Labour leader said he would order an immediate strategic defence review covering “all aspects” of defence policy if he won the general election on June 8. A Labour spokesman later insisted the party still supports the retention of the submarine-based system housed at the Faslane naval base in Helensburgh.

Mr Corbyn also faced controversy yesterday when he suggested he would be reluctant to order a drone strike to take out the leader of Islamic State (IS) Abu Bakr al-baghdadi if 0 A spokesman said Labour support Trident’s renewal British intelligence discovered his whereabouts.

The Conservatives seized on the confusion to say Labour was in “chaos” and could not be trusted with the nation’s defences.

Mr Corbyn declined to say whether the party still backed Trident during an appearance on the BBC’S Andrew Marr show.

Asked whether it could be cancelled under Labour, he said: “We will have a strategic defence review immediately which will include all aspects of defence. We would then look at the situation at that time.”

Pressed on whether it would be in Labour’s election manifesto as the party’s shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith had previously promised, he said: “We haven’t completed work on the manifesto yet.”

The Labour leader, who has previously said he would never authorise the use of nuclear weapons, said he stood by his past views on the subject.

But in a statement issued less than two hours after his appearance a party spokesman said: “The decision to renew Trident has been taken and Labour supports that.”