Corbyn says the Moscow MAFIA could be behind nerve agent attack and blasts 'McCarthyite intolerance of dissent' over Russia poisoning claim after his own frontbenchers threaten to resign

  • Jeremy Corbyn facing a revolt for parroting Kremlin line on nerve agent attack
  • Leader's spin doctor questioned whether UK security services can be trusted
  • Shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith said she agreed with PM's assessment
  • Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said to have backed UK reprisals 

Shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith today broke ranks to say she did not agree with Mr Corbyn and it was 'quite clear' the incident was an 'act of aggression'

Shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith today broke ranks to say she did not agree with Mr Corbyn and it was 'quite clear' the incident was an 'act of aggression'

Jeremy Corbyn has blasted the 'McCarthyite intolerance of dissent' on criticising Russia and claimed the country's mafia could be behind the poisoning of a double agent and his daughter on British soil.

The Labour leader is facing a mounting revolt from his own side over his failure to condemn Moscow following the attempted murder of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury.

But he has today defied his critics and once again refused to lay the blame for the attack at the door of Vladimir Putin, instead calling for calm. 

Writing in the Guardian, Mr Corbyn said: 'To rush way ahead of the evidence being gathered by the police, in a fevered parliamentary atmosphere, serves neither justice nor our national security.'

He conceded Prime Minister Theresa May had been right to say the nerve agent used in the attack - Novichok - had either come from the Kremlin or had fallen into the wrong hands.  

He said the possibility the Russian mafia had a growing presence in Britain could not be excluded.    

But Mr Corbyn warned against a 'McCarthyite intolerance of dissent' over the issue and added: 'Labour is of course no supporter of the Putin regime, its conservative authoritarianism, abuse of human rights or political and economic corruption.

Jeremy Corbyn was branded a 'disgrace' after he failed to condemn the Kremlin over the Salisbury spy poisoning yesterday and parroted the Kremlin line by demanding that they are given a sample of the poison to test themselves

Jeremy Corbyn was branded a 'disgrace' after he failed to condemn the Kremlin over the Salisbury spy poisoning yesterday and parroted the Kremlin line by demanding that they are given a sample of the poison to test themselves

'However, that does not mean we should resign ourselves to a "new cold war" of escalating arms spending, proxy conflicts across the globe and a McCarthyite intolerance of dissent.'

Earlier in the day, Labour frontbenchers defied Mr Corbyn and backed Mrs May's tough line against Russia over the Salisbury nerve agent attack. 

Mr Corbyn was accused of parroting the Kremlin line in the Commons by making clear he did not accept that only Russia could have been the source of the military-grade Novichok agent.

The veteran left-winger's chief spin doctor openly questioned the reliability of the UK security services, which have briefed Mr Corbyn on the nerve agent outrage.

Two frontbenchers are said to have suggested they could quit over the stance. 

And shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith today broke ranks to say she did not agree with Mr Corbyn and it was 'quite clear' the incident was an 'act of aggression'.

'We fully support the government's action because we hold Russia responsible,' she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 

'We very much accept what the Prime Minister said, this is a very sophisticated nerve agent, and that Russia is responsible for this attack.

Ms Griffith said she was more 'plain speaking' than Jeremy Corbyn, arguing that he had clarified his position in a statement after his heavily-criticised Commons performance.

'I think the important thing is that is our position now,' she added.

Jeremy Corbyn pictured with his communications chief Seumus Milne, who has downplayed the number of people imprisoned under Stalin's murderous rule

Jeremy Corbyn pictured with his communications chief Seumus Milne, who has downplayed the number of people imprisoned under Stalin's murderous rule

Anna Turley was among a string of Labour MPs who angrily distanced themselves from the comments made by Jeremy Corbyn spokesman - who said that Russia might not be behind the attack and MI5 cannot be trusted because they were wrong about there being WMDs in Iraq

Anna Turley was among a string of Labour MPs who angrily distanced themselves from the comments made by Jeremy Corbyn spokesman - who said that Russia might not be behind the attack and MI5 cannot be trusted because they were wrong about there being WMDs in Iraq

Ms Griffith distanced herself from Mr Milne, saying Britain had 'very, very fine intelligence services' and 'great expertise on some of these matters'.

'I can't speak for Seumas Milne, the spokesperson, he has to speak for himself,' she said. 

In an interview with the Daily Mirror, Ms Griffith said senior Labour figures had been briefed by security services over the attack on Sunday March 4 that left Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia fighting for their lives.

Asked if Mr Corbyn had undermined UK security assessments that it was 'highly likely' Russia was behind their poisoning, Ms Griffith said: 'Looking back, perhaps it would have been easier for us if he had made it clear at the beginning of what he said, just how much we support the expulsion of the diplomats.

Who is Seumas Milne and why are his views controversial?

Seamus Milne is Jeremy Corbyn's official spokesman -but his comments defending Russia have sparked huge controversy (file pic)

Seamus Milne is Jeremy Corbyn's official spokesman - meaning he is entrusted to speak on the Labour leader's behalf.

But he is hugely controversial among Labour backbenchers and has been accused of being an apologist for Josef Stalin - the murderous Communist dictator.

Here are some of the controversial comments Corbyn's spin chief has made:

Blames Nato rather than Russia for military tensions: 

‘This anti-Russian incitement is dangerous folly. There certainly has been military expansionism. But it has overwhelmingly come from Nato, not Moscow. (March 4, 2015) 

The Labour spin chief defends Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea as ‘clearly defensive’: 

‘No Russian government could have acquiesced in such a threat from territory that was at the heart of both Russia and the Soviet Union. Putin’s absorption of Crimea and support for the rebellion in eastern Ukraine is clearly defensive.’ (April 30, 2014) 

Mr Milne says the Soviet Union ‘helped to drive up welfare standards’: 

‘For all its brutalities and failures, communism in the Soviet Union, eastern Europe and elsewhere delivered rapid industrialisation, mass education, job security and huge advances in social and gender equality. 

'It encompassed genuine idealism... Its existence helped to drive up welfare standards in the west.’ (February 16, 2006)  

Advertisement

'It would have been easier and perhaps we would not have had the conversations we are seeing.' 

Mr Corbyn today defended his words in the Commons yesterday - insisting that his questions were proper.

He said: 'I was extremely definite yesterday that I totally condemn this attack, the perpetrators must be brought to justice, the International Chemical Weapons Convention must be evoked, and the source of this weapon, which appears to be Russia – either from the state or a rogue element from the state – must be brought to justice as a result of it.

'This is a serious, very serious, issue and has to be dealt with. I made that very clear yesterday.

'The evidence points towards Russia on this. Therefore, the responsibility must be borne by those who made the weapon and those who bought the weapon into the country and those who used the weapon.

'What I was asking was questions, questions about the identity of the weapon, questions about the reference to the weapons convention, and also the support of our other allies in this.

'Those were the questions I was asking – that is what Oppositions are there for.'

But in a sign of the fury among Labour backbenchers over Mr Corbyn's tone yesterday, Ms Griffith's comments were quickly supported by several Labour MPs.

Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw said she was 'spot on', while Kingston Upon Hull North MP Diana Johnson said she 'fully' supported the shadow defence secretary.

Meanwhile, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry is said to have told a London seminar: 'We utterly condemn this despicable act and support all the measures taken by the Government today.'

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Owen Smith retweeted a Guardian op ed backing Mrs May's strong response and commenting that it was 'absolutely right' about the 'resolute, united strength we need to demonstrate in our response'. 

Labour backbencher John Woodcock has tabled an Early Day Motion 'unequivocally' accepting the 'Russian state's culpability' for the attack, and supporting 'fully' the statement made by Mrs May in the Commons.

A number of MPs have signed the motion, with some going public with their criticism of Mr Milne - who previously blamed Nato for Russian aggression in Ukraine and criticised sanctions as 'disproportionate'.

Labour MP Anna Turley tweeted: 'I'm afraid Seumas doesn't speak for my Labour or British values'.

Chuka Umunna said: 'Mr Milne's comments do not represent the views of the majority of our voters, members or MPs.'

In a briefing for journalists yesterday, Mr Milne said: 'The Government has access to information and intelligence on this matter which others don't.

'Red Scare' of the 1950s 

Senator Joseph McCarthy lent his name to the so-called ‘witch-hunts’ that were carried out against suspected Soviet sympathisers living in America.

The senator for Wisconsin fuelled the ‘Red Scare’ in 1950 by claiming he had a list of 205 Communists manipulating government policy. More than 2,000 government employees were sacked with little proof and Hollywood writers, directors and actors were blacklisted.

In 1954, he outraged President Eisenhower when he investigated Communist influence in the army.

He lost his public standing after military hearings were broadcast on TV. Lawyer Joseph Welch famously asked him: ‘Have you no sense of decency, sir?’ Three years after the hearings he died of liver failure.

 

Advertisement

'However, also there is a history in relation to weapons of mass destruction and intelligence which is problematic, to put it mildly.

'So, I think the right approach is to seek the evidence to follow international treaties, particularly in relation to prohibitive chemical weapons.'

Asked if he could rule out the possibility of Russia being framed, the spokesman said the evidence pointed 'overwhelmingly' to the two options set out by the PM.

'In the meantime I think it is essential we follow the evidence and what the evidence produces,' he added. 

Labour moderates queued up to back the PM's tough words and actions in the Commons - and take a swipe at Mr Corbyn's stance.

Yvette Cooper, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said Russia's actions must be met with 'unequivocal condemnation'. 

Mr Woodcock said: 'This is day for the House to speak as one for the nation.

'And the Prime Minister will be reassured to hear that a clear majority of Labour MPs, alongside the leaders of every other party, support the firm stance she is taking.'

The Russian embassy Twitter feed continued to mock Britain over the nerve gas attack today

The Russian embassy Twitter feed continued to mock Britain over the nerve gas attack today

Labour moderates queued up to back the PM's tough words and actions in the Commons yesterday - and take a swipe at Mr Corbyn's stance

Labour moderates queued up to back the PM's tough words and actions in the Commons yesterday - and take a swipe at Mr Corbyn's stance

He was cheered by fellow Labour backbenchers as he made the comments.

Labour MP Chris Leslie said Russia is 'thumbing its nose' at the West and must be brought to heel.

While fellow Labour MP Chris Bryant said: 'I completely support everything the Prime Minister has aid here today.'

Mr McFadden, a minister under Gordon Brown said: 'Responding with strength and resolve when you're country is under threat is an essential component of political leadership.

'There is a Labour tradition which understands that, and it has been understood by Prime Ministers of all parties who have stood at that despatch box.

'That means when chemical weapons are used we need more than words but deeds.'

Who was Senator Joseph McCarthy and what was McCarthyism?

Senator Joseph McCarthy, pictured, in 1954, held 36 days of televised hearings in an effort to uncover a secret communist plot to undermine the United States

Senator Joseph McCarthy, pictured, in 1954, held 36 days of televised hearings in an effort to uncover a secret communist plot to undermine the United States

Senator Joseph McCarthy started an anti-communist witch hunt after he delivered a Lincoln Day address in Wheeling, West Virginia on February 9, 1950. 

McCarthy had been relatively anonymous during his period in the Senate following his election in 1946, until he claimed there was a secret plot by communists to overthrow US democracy. 

During his speech, McCarthy claimed he had a list of communists who had infiltrated the State Department with the aim of undermining US foreign policy. 

The Senate established a special committee to investigate McCarthy's claims, but these were soon dismissed as 'a fraud and a hoax'. 

Yet, when Kim Il-Sung launched his surprise attack on Seoul in June 1950, public opinion in the United States had shifted. 

Communist North Korean forces backed by Soviet fighter pilots surprised the US government. 

It was feared at the time that Korea was the first act in an attempted global communist takeover. 

This paranoia was fuelled by the conviction of State Department worker Alger Hiss, who was accused of passing secrets to a communist spy ring in the late 1940s.

In 1950, he was convicted of perjury, but this was enough to launch a second investigation. 

In 1952, McCarthy was re-elected to the Senate and was appointed chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, where he probed allegations of espionage and subversion. 

It culminated into televised hearings over the course of 36 days in 1954. The lack of evidence behind any of his claims destroyed the Wisconsin senator's political career and resulted in him receiving an official rebuke.  

In total, some 2,000 US government employees lost their jobs as a result of the hearings and his investigations.  

Advertisement

 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.