Jeremy Corbyn REFUSES to condemn ally John McDonnell for branding new Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey a 'stain on humanity'
- Jeremy Corbyn refused to criticise ally John McDonnell over aggressive jibes
- The shadow chancellor branded Esther McVey a 'stain on humanity' in 2014
- Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom said Mr McDonnell's behaviour 'truly evil'
Esther McVey (pictured in Downing Street last week) has been subjected to a tide of abuse since her appointment as Work and Pensions Secretary last night
Jeremy Corbyn today refused to condemn John McDonnell for branding Esther McVey a 'stain on humanity'.
The Labour leader sidestepped questions about whether he endorsed Mr McDonnell's vicious attacks on Ms McVey.
Mr McDonnell's extraordinary jibes in November 2014 have been widely slammed as an example of abuse and harassment in politics.
As well as describing the then-welfare minister - who was promoted to the Cabinet last week - as a 'stain on humanity', Mr McDonnell repeated suggestions that she should be 'lynched' amid laughter from activists at a meeting.
He has repeatedly refused to apologise and insisted he was not advocating violence.
Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom today said Mr McDonnell's behaviour had been 'truly evil' and 'utterly disgusting'.
But challenged on the issue during an interview on ITV's Peston programme, Mr Corbyn - who claims he stands for 'kinder, gentler politics' - said: 'I would rather stick to where I disagree with somebody on their policies.
'I fundamentally disagree with Esther McVey and her approach towards inequality and the poor and the worst off in our society, and I will stick to that.'
Mr Corbyn was pressed to emulate a Tory pledge to suspend any candidate who were abusive in person or on social media.
The left-wing veteran stopped short of agreeing to the respect code, but said: 'It's basic in the Labour Party, you treat people with respect and treat each other with respect.
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Speaking on ITV's Peston programme, Jeremy Corbyn refused to criticise John McDonnell for his comments about Esther McVey
Mr McDonnell (file image) previously branded Ms McVey a 'stain on humanity' and was accused of repeating calls for her to be 'lynched'
'We're quite clear. Public behaviour is about respect, is about listening to people, is about how you treat each other.
'Surely that should be a norm in public life.'
Ms McVey has been subjected to a renewed tide of abuse since being promoted to the Cabinet last week.
Her Labour shadow Debbie Abrahams said this morning that they were friends 'on a human level' but her policies 'left a lot to be desired'.
On the previous remarks by Mr McDonnell, Ms Abrahams said: 'It's not the language that I would use.
'I think we need to be very careful as I say, that all of us – journalists, politicians, everybody, in terms of the language.'
Mrs Leadsom insisted: 'The laughter about launching a campaign against @EstherMcVey1 on her birthday, and then the guffaws about killing her. Seriously? Is this 's kinder, gentler politics? This has to stop.'
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry left herself open to a hypocrisy charge last week as she refused to criticise Mr McDonnell despite condemning Tory appointee Toby Young as a 'horrible man' with a 'disgusting attitude to women'.
WHY DO PEOPLE THINK ESTHER MCVEY IS 'DANGEROUS'?
McVey is pictured leaving No 10 Downing Street
Before entering politics Esther McVey was a TV presenter and businesswoman.
She stood as the Conservative candidate for Wirral West in Merseyside in 2005 but lost out to Labour MP Stephen Hesford by just over 1,000 votes.
Winning the seat for the Tories in 2010, she was then made Minister of State at the Department for Work and Pensions under Iain Duncan Smith in 2013.
During her time at the DWP she cut the Disability Living Allowance because she believed the 'system was being abused', accusing several disabled people of 'not being disabled'.
The change meant 300,000 people with disabilities had their benefits cut, triggering mass criticism.
She was also a champion of the controversial 'bedroom tax', which saw social tenants' benefits cut if they had spare rooms.
The Tory MP said it was a way of 'tackling overcrowding' and would mean a 'better use of the housing stock'.
McVey also caused outrage on home turf in Merseyside when she sent a party-political tweet out during the memorial service for the victims of the Hillsborough disaster in 2014.
As then shadow health secretary and now Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham gave an emotional speech, the MP tweeted: 'Wirral Labour Party can't be trusted'.
She was slammed for not showing respect to those who died and their families.
McVey later apologised but maintained the tweet was not sent by her.
She lost her seat in the 2015 election but returned to politics when Theresa May called a snap election in 2017, taking former Chancellor George Osborne's place as MP for Tatton.
McVey quickly became a hate figure for the left after starting at the DWP, with Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell once branding her a 'stain of inhumanity'
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