Labour defends Corbyn after he sidesteps Brexit in Commons

0 Jeremy Corbyn says it was right to focus on other issues Labour has defended Jeremy Corbyn’s decision not to use Prime Minister’s Questions to grill Theresa May on Brexit and the fallout from Tuesday night’s votes.

The opposition leader sparked some criticism after he used his six questions at yesterday’s regular set-piece debate to instead focus on problems with the welfare system.

He accused the government of creating a “hostile environment” for those on benefits, referencing a United Nations special report into the government’s policies, and asked Theresa May which part she found most shocking.

After PMQS, a spokesman for the Labour leader said most people in the country “want the issues facing them in their day-to-day lives to be addressed”.

He said: “We will be talking about Brexit every day this week, as we did every day last week and as no doubt we will do every day next week. It was absolutely right to focus on other issues which are causing extreme hardship for millions of people in the country. As you will know many people in Britain feel that the Brexit process is diverting attention away from crucial issues facing the country which the Government is not addressing. Brexit is of course the central issue facing the country, as Jeremy is saying, but it is not the only issue by any matter or means.”

The SNP’S Joanna Cherry QC wrote on Twitter: “I can’t believe he has missed the gaping open goal of the triple whammy of Tory Govt defeats yesterday.”