Jeremy Corbyn refuses to blame Syrian tyrant Assad for chemical atrocity saying ‘anybody else’ could have been behind deadly assault
Donald Trump is reportedly lining up an all-out blitz on up to eight targets in Syria after at least 70 people were killed in a chemical attack
JEREMY CORBYN today refused to point the finger at Bashar al-Assad AGAIN over the deadly chemical attack in Syria.
The Labour leader said that the fatal assault on Douma could be down to "the Syrian regime" or "anyone else" - and criticised Theresa May for planning military action.
He also blasted the US and Russia for opposing each other at the UN, calling on Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to start working together.
Mr Corbyn suggested he doesn't believe claims by Mrs May and Emmanuel Macron that Assad is responsible for the chemical gas atrocity which left dozens dead.
He told Sky News: "If there's proof the Syrian regime did it then they must be held responsible, if there's proof anyone else did it then they must be held reponsible."
Asked whether he backed a military response, the Labour boss replied: "This is a time, surely, when we have to use all the authority we have to prevent the continuation and the escalation of war."
He insisted the United Nations could have a role in probing the gas attack - even though Russia has repeatedly blocked an investigation.
Mr Corbyn said: "I would say very strongly to Russia and the US, 'Stop blocking each other's resolutions'.
"Maybe a British-sponsored resolution on this would be a helpful way forward?
"Surely it's better to work as hard as we can to prevent a further bombardment, which could extend the war."
Earlier today, he accused Mrs May of "waiting for instructions" from President Donald Trump as the West stands on the brink of action against Syria.
In a statement this morning, he said: "Further UK military intervention in Syria's appalling multi-sided war risks escalating an already devastating conflict.
"The government appears to be waiting for instructions from President Donald Trump on how to proceed. But the US administration is giving alarmingly contradictory signals.
"Even US defence secretary James Mattis has said we 'don't have evidence' and warned further military action could 'escalate out of control'.
"Ministers should take their proposals, such as they are, to Parliament. And Britain should press for an independent UN-led investigation of last weekend's horrific chemical weapons attack so that those responsible can be held to account.
"Rather than further military action, what is urgently needed is a co-ordinated international drive to achieve a ceasefire and a negotiated settlement under UN auspices. The humanitarian priority must be to halt the killing on all sides.
"The need to restart genuine negotiations for peace and an inclusive political settlement of the Syrian conflict, including the withdrawal of all foreign forces, could not be more urgent.
"We must do everything we can, no matter how challenging, to bring that about."
Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, called for a "political solution" spearheaded by the United Nations - and suggested that targeting Assad would be a boost for the Islamic extremists who want to get him out.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The real danger is that what starts out as a justified punishment for the use of chemical weapons ends up with the Royal Air Force serving as the air arm of the jihadi extremist rebels in Syria.
"The Labour party believes there is no military solution to the situation in Syria, there's a political situation."
Pressed on how to achieve a political breakthrough at the UN, where Russia has repeatedly vetoed a probe into Assad's crimes, Ms Abbott would only say: "If we believe there is no possibility of a political solution, that is to give up all hope."
And the only example she could give of when war can be justified was the struggle against Hitler in WW2.
The Prime Minister spoke to Mr Trump for a second time last night and agreed that Britain and the US will carry out a joint response to the attack on Douma last Saturday.
A Downing Street spokesman said: "They agreed that the Assad regime had established a pattern of dangerous behaviour in relation to the use of chemical weapons.
“They agreed it was vital that the use of chemical weapons did not go unchallenged, and on the need to deter the further use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime."
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Mrs May has rejected calls for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis - pointing out that Russia has vetoed any discussion of the atrocity by the United Nations.
But her plan to carry out military action without a Commons vote faces fierce opposition, not only from Labour and the SNP but also from her own MPs.
Labour is also split over the possibility of bombing raids, with Mr Corbyn's ally Kate Osamor suggesting that Assad should be forced out of power in response to the chemical weapons attack.