May accuses Corbyn of blaming UK military action for terror campaigns
THERESA May has accused Jeremy Corbyn of blaming British military action for terrorist attacks in the UK, saying it proved he was not “up to the job” of leading the country.
The Prime Minister launched the attack on the Labour leader after a speech in which he sought to draw links between involvement in the “war on terror” and attacks on the streets of Britain.
As campaigning resumed following the Manchester Arena atrocity, the Labour leader was careful to stress that foreign policy decisions could not “remotely excuse” the actions of terrorists such as Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi.
But Mrs May, speaking at a press conference at the G7 summit in Sicily, said: “What has happened today is I have been here at the G7 working with other international leaders to fight terrorism.
“At the same time Jeremy Corbyn has said that terror attacks in Britain are our own fault.
“He has chosen to do that just a few days after one of the worst terrorist atrocities we have experienced in the UK.
“I want to make one thing very clear to Jeremy Corbyn and to you: it is that there can never, ever be an excuse for terrorism.
“There can be no excuse for what happened in Manchester.
“I think that the choice that people face at the General Election has just become starker. It is a choice between me, working constantly to protect the national interest and protect our security; and Jeremy Corbyn, who frankly isn’t up to the job.”
Mrs May’s swipe at Mr Corbyn came after Boris Johnson branded the Labour leader “monstrous” as the two main parties resumed hostilities in the General Election campaign.
Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson said it was “absolutely extraordinary and inexplicable in this week of all weeks that there should be any attempt to justify or to legitimate the actions of terrorists in this way”.
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon accused Mr Corbyn of having a “very long track record of siding with people who want to damage and attack Britain”.
In a speech in London Mr Corbyn said the “war on terror is not working” and the deployment of troops on the streets following the Manchester attack was a “stark reminder” the approach was failing.
He said experts – “including professionals in our intelligence and security services” – had pointed to the connection between the UK’s involvement in foreign wars, such as the Libya intervention, and terrorism at home. Abedi was of Libyan background and his sister has claimed that he may have “wanted revenge” for US-led military strikes in the Middle East.
Mr Corbyn, who opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as air strikes against terrorist targets in
Syria, said Labour would “change what we do abroad” if it won power.
Speaking in London he stressed that the link between foreign policy and terrorism “in no way reduces the guilt of those who attack our children” and could not “remotely excuse, or even adequately explain, outrages like this week’s massacre”.
“But we must be brave enough to admit the war on terror is not working,” he said.
Mr Corbyn also criticised the Tories over cuts to police and emergency services, promising to increase funding, saying: “Austerity has to stop at the A&E ward and at the police station door.
“We cannot be protected and cared for on the cheap.”
Mrs May defended her record, saying: “We have protected counter-terrorism police funding, we have increased the funding for our security and intelligence agencies and we continue to provide them with the support they need.”
The Tory attacks on Mr Corbyn came as:
Economic think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) hit out at the Tories and Labour over their manifesto plans, saying neither party was being honest with voters.
Labour received an opinion poll boost, with one survey cutting the Tory lead to just five points.
In the first opinion poll taken since the Manchester suicide bomb – released on Mr Corbyn’s 68th birthday – YouGov found Conservatives down a point on the previous week on 43% and Labour up three on 38%, with Lib Dems up one on 10% and Ukip up one on 4%.
A TNS/Kantar poll taken before Monday night’s atrocity put Conservatives down five points on 42%, with Labour up five on 34%, Lib Dems up a point on 9% and Ukip down two on 4%.
The Press Association poll of polls, based on a rolling average of surveys published in the past week, put the Tories on 44% and Labour on 35% - the nine-point gap being the first time Mrs May’s lead has been in single figures since calling the June 8 snap election.
Mrs May said: “The only poll that counts when it comes to elections is the poll that takes place on election day.”
Mr Corbyn faced further questions on security and defence during his BBC One interview with Andrew Neil.
A preview clip saw Mr Neil pressing Mr Corbyn over his views on Trident, the UK’s nuclear weapons deterrent.
The Labour leader said: “I voted against the renewal, everybody knows that.”
Asked if he supports the renewal of Trident, Mr Corbyn replied: “We are going ahead with the programme which has been agreed by Parliament and voted on by the Labour Party.”
Pressed again over his support for the project, Mr Corbyn added: “Listen, my views on nuclear weapons are well known, I want to achieve a nuclear-free world through multilateral disarmament through the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.”