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| Trident: former first sea lord criticises armed forces chief for Corbyn remarks | Trident: former first sea lord criticises armed forces chief for Corbyn remarks |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Former first sea lord Alan West has said it was highly likely he would resign the Labour whip if the party adopted a policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament, saying the deterrent was essential to keep Britain safe. | Former first sea lord Alan West has said it was highly likely he would resign the Labour whip if the party adopted a policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament, saying the deterrent was essential to keep Britain safe. |
| But Lord West criticised the current chief of the defence staff, Gen Sir Nicholas Houghton, for comments he made on Sunday in which he said he was worried by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s statement that he would never use nuclear weapons. Corbyn’s remarks defeated the purpose of the nuclear deterrent, Houghton said on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show. “It would worry me if that thought was translated into power,” he said. | |
| Corbyn is expected to write to the Ministry of Defence to demand an apology, saying it is wrong for a serving member of the military to involve themselves in political issues. West agreed Houghton had been lured into saying things he should not have expressed, saying: “Maybe he strayed a little further than he should have done”. | |
| Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Monday, West said: “We (military figures) tend to say things as we see rather than spinning them or being clever with our words.” | |
| “He was trying to be careful but he got bluffed into saying a little bit more than he should have done.” | “He was trying to be careful but he got bluffed into saying a little bit more than he should have done.” |
| The peer said no action was needed against Houghton other than to advise him to “be careful”. | The peer said no action was needed against Houghton other than to advise him to “be careful”. |
| He claimed that Houghton had been naive in being walked into answering a question he should not have answered, but insisted the issue had been overblown. | He claimed that Houghton had been naive in being walked into answering a question he should not have answered, but insisted the issue had been overblown. |
| Corbyn found an unexpected ally in the Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan, who tweeted: | |
| Serving generals shouldn't ever - ever - involve themselves in politics. It's something that distinguishes Britain from Burma. | Serving generals shouldn't ever - ever - involve themselves in politics. It's something that distinguishes Britain from Burma. |
| The row over UK defence policy and the attitude of the Labour leader to the armed forces, including the memory of the war dead, continued when Nigel Farage said Corbyn should have bowed more deeply at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. The Sun newspaper also claimed Corbyn had insulted the war dead by failing to bow his head more deeply when he laid his wreath. | The row over UK defence policy and the attitude of the Labour leader to the armed forces, including the memory of the war dead, continued when Nigel Farage said Corbyn should have bowed more deeply at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday. The Sun newspaper also claimed Corbyn had insulted the war dead by failing to bow his head more deeply when he laid his wreath. |
| The Ukip leader said Corbyn’s behaviour was not acceptable. He told LBC: “Every piece of his body language showed he did not want to be there. If you are going to turn up, you play the game. If you won’t, don’t bother to turn up.” He added Corbyn’s behaviour was similar to his attitude to the armed forces at the Battle of Britain memorial. | |
| Ukip is fighting Labour in the Oldham West and Royton byelection in December and has been doing all it can to portray Corbyn as unpatriotic. | Ukip is fighting Labour in the Oldham West and Royton byelection in December and has been doing all it can to portray Corbyn as unpatriotic. |
| Corbyn turned up at the Cenotaph in a dark suit wearing a red poppy and stayed behind after the service to talk to former servicemen informally, rather than attending a formal lunch. | Corbyn turned up at the Cenotaph in a dark suit wearing a red poppy and stayed behind after the service to talk to former servicemen informally, rather than attending a formal lunch. |
| Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the paper’s former editor Charles Moore refused to join the criticism, saying: “There was nothing wrong with his slight bow, he wore unobjectionable clothes, a red poppy and a respectful expression.” | Writing in the Daily Telegraph, the paper’s former editor Charles Moore refused to join the criticism, saying: “There was nothing wrong with his slight bow, he wore unobjectionable clothes, a red poppy and a respectful expression.” |
| Corbyn’s views are close to pacifist, but he has defended the second world war as a fight against fascism. | Corbyn’s views are close to pacifist, but he has defended the second world war as a fight against fascism. |