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Shadow cabinet seek to defuse Jeremy Corbyn Syria row | Shadow cabinet seek to defuse Jeremy Corbyn Syria row |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Senior shadow cabinet members are seeking to defuse a row over UK air strikes in Syria that threatens to split the Labour Party. | Senior shadow cabinet members are seeking to defuse a row over UK air strikes in Syria that threatens to split the Labour Party. |
Leader Jeremy Corbyn is against air strikes - putting him at odds with more than half of his top team. | Leader Jeremy Corbyn is against air strikes - putting him at odds with more than half of his top team. |
He faced warnings of resignations after he wrote to Labour MPs rejecting David Cameron's case for military action. | He faced warnings of resignations after he wrote to Labour MPs rejecting David Cameron's case for military action. |
But Labour deputy leader Tom Watson and others who disagree with him say they will not be resigning. | But Labour deputy leader Tom Watson and others who disagree with him say they will not be resigning. |
Mr Watson hinted a free vote - allowing the shadow cabinet and Labour MPs to follow their conscience - might be the best way out of the situation. | |
'Compelling case' | |
Asked if he would resign if there was not a free vote, Mr Watson said: "No, of course not. I'm the deputy leader of the party with a mandate. But I don't think that situation is going to occur." | |
Mr Watson said he agreed with Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn's view that the prime minister had made a "compelling case" for military action and that the UK faced an "imminent security threat". | |
In his letter to Labour MPs, Mr Corbyn rejected Mr Cameron's claim that attacking IS in Syria would make the UK safer and said the prime minister did not have a "coherent strategy" for defeating IS. | |
Mr Watson said he had not known Mr Corbyn would send a letter expressing his own views to Labour MPs, following Thursday's shadow cabinet meeting, but added that he was within his rights to do so as leader. | |
He said the shadow cabinet would form a view collectively on Monday after seeking clarifications from David Cameron on the issue of 70,000 ground troops being available to support the action. | |
'Biggest mandate' | |
Mr Cameron has said he will hold a Commons vote on joining air strikes against so-called Islamic State in Syria when he is confident he can win it - and that depends on persuading enough Labour MPs to back his case to offset any Conservative rebellion. | |
Mr Corbyn's shadow cabinet ally Diane Abbott has urged the front bench to get behind their leader in any vote. | Mr Corbyn's shadow cabinet ally Diane Abbott has urged the front bench to get behind their leader in any vote. |
"Jeremy appoints the shadow cabinet - not the other way round. You cannot have a shadow cabinet voting down the leader of the Labour Party who has just been elected with the biggest mandate in history." | |
Meanwhile, Labour MP Paul Flynn, who is opposed to air strikes in Syria, says he has told his leader he will have to resign if he becomes a "liability" to the party and Mr Corbyn "understands that". | |
The MP told BBC Radio 4's The World at One that Labour was in a "terrible mess" and the divisions seen over issues like Syria "can't go on". | The MP told BBC Radio 4's The World at One that Labour was in a "terrible mess" and the divisions seen over issues like Syria "can't go on". |
'Weak leadership' | |
But he urged colleagues not to try and depose Mr Corbyn, saying this would cause a "rift" and possibly a split in the party. | But he urged colleagues not to try and depose Mr Corbyn, saying this would cause a "rift" and possibly a split in the party. |
They must rally round their leader for the time being, Mr Flynn said, suggesting Mr Corbyn will have take a decision about his own future closer to the next general election. | They must rally round their leader for the time being, Mr Flynn said, suggesting Mr Corbyn will have take a decision about his own future closer to the next general election. |
Labour MP John Spellar, a member of the defence select committee, said Mr Corbyn's behaviour over the Syria vote debate had been "unacceptable". | |
And he urged shadow cabinet members considering resignation to stand their ground, telling BBC Radio 5 Live: "If anyone should resign after this incident, it should be Jeremy Corbyn." | |
Another ex-minister, Fiona Mactaggart, said Mr Corbyn's leadership was "weak" and "unsustainable", although she was also unconvinced about the case for bombing Syria. |