Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused of ‘putting Britain at risk’ after he refuses to say if he would bomb ISIS or keep Trident
Hapless Labour leader also refused to say if he would put a pledge to keep Trident in his manifesto on Andrew Marr Show
LABOUR’S Jeremy Corbyn was branded a danger to Britain after refusing to say he would authorise a drone strike if he had the chance to kill the leader of ISIS.
The leftie leader also blew another gaping hole in his credibility by signalling he would scrap Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent.
The bombshells came in a car-crash TV interview which left him being branded a “deluded” danger to the country.
First Mr Corbyn went against his party’s official position by saying he was not sure a promise to renew Trident nukes would be in Labour’s election manifesto.
He waffled: “We will have a strategic defence review immediately which will include all aspects of defence.”
Asked specifically about the manifesto, he replied: “Mmm. We haven’t completed work on the manifesto yet. We are having that discussion.”
Challenged on what “last resort” instructions he would give nuclear submarine commanders in the event of Britain being wiped out, he said: “A strict instruction — follow orders when given.”
He added: “I’ve made clear that any use of nuclear weapons is a disaster.”
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Questioned on what he would do about British troops in Estonia facing down possible Russian aggression, he said he would keep them there “for the moment”.
He said he would also urge US President Donald Trump not to launch any further strikes against Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad.
The BBC’s Andrew Marr then asked him what he would do if spooks offered him the chance to take out IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi with a drone strike.
Mr Corbyn said: “What I’d tell them is, ‘Give me the information you’ve got, tell me how accurate that is. And tell me what you think can be achieved by this’.”
Reminded he was talking about a chance to kill the leader of IS, Mr Corbyn said: “My point, the whole point, would be does this help to get a political solution in Syria?”
Last night Tory MP and former Army captain Johnny Mercer told The Sun: “The guy is completely deluded.
“If anyone in their right mind can vote for him to be Prime Minister then they seriously misunderstand what is required to lead the nation. He’s very dangerous.
Tory Party chairman Patrick McLoughlin had already argued Britain would not be safe under Mr Corbyn as he would not be able to take “difficult decisions” in the event of a terrorist attack.
Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green declared: “You just have to listen to what Jeremy Corbyn said.
“What he said was that he would dismantle Britain’s nuclear defences and he would fail to deal effectively with terrorism.
“This man could be Prime Minister in seven weeks’ time.
“I can’t think of a better reason for sticking with the strong leadership of Theresa May than the fact Jeremy Corbyn would dismantle this country’s defences.”
Mr Corbyn has been relentlessly attacked by the Tories over his peacenik past. In January last year he said he would renew the nuclear submarines — but take the nukes off them.
Yesterday the Tories decided his new comments were so damaging that they would shelve their own policy announcements to let his words sink in.
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Labour felt obliged to issue a statement insisting the party still backed Trident.
And Mr Corbyn was forced to clarify that he was “no supporter” of IS.
Meanwhile key figures within his party spoke out too.
Labour peer Lord West said Mr Corbyn’s words about what he would tell Trident submarine captains defied belief.
He said the point to remember was that the “letters of last resort” would be opened after a devastating nuclear attack and would instruct them to fire back or put themselves under the command of an ally such as the US.
The peer told The Sun: “If you want to be PM, it’s all well and good talking about unilateral disarmament, but it’s a tough job and you have to take tough decisions. That is what would worry me.
“If you are the captain of a submarine and the Russians are trying to kill you and you are desperate to find out what to do, the last thing you need when you open the letter is 14 pages about hugging and squeezing.”
The peer told The Sun: “If you want to be PM, it’s all well and good talking about unilateral disarmament, but it’s a tough job and you have to take tough decisions. That is what would worry me.
“If you are the captain of a submarine and the Russians are trying to kill you and you are desperate to find out what to do, the last thing you need when you open the letter is 14 pages about hugging and squeezing.”
Mr Corbyn also refused five times to say if he was in favour of ending the free movement of EU migrants.
And he reiterated he was against grammar schools and would boot all private contractors out of the NHS.
One Labour MP said the interview was why he was taking his own message out to constituents.
He said: “My campaign is about national security. I don’t care what Jeremy Corbyn puts in the manifesto. Like most MPs I’ll put the country first.”