.Armed police and military told to 'take swift action to neutralise terrorists'
- .But Labour leader says shoot to kill is 'dangerous and counter-productive'
- .Furious MPs confront Corbyn over his stance on tackling terrorists
- .Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn backs 'lethal force' to save lives
- .See full coverage of Labour and leader Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn today faces open revolt over his refusal to support police shooting dead marauding terrorists, with even his own shadow foreign secretary distancing himself from the Labour leader.
The Labour party is in uproar after Mr Corbyn said it was 'not happy' about armed officers and special forces had an order to kill fanatics to bring an atrocity to an end.
In the biggest challenge to Mr Corbyn's authority to date, he was branded a 'f***ing disgrace' by one frontbencher, while shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn insisted it was 'perfectly reasonable' to use 'lethal force'.
It also emerged Mr Corbyn plans to attend a Christmas party for an anti-war campaign which blamed the Paris atrocities on western intervention in the Middle East.
Jeremy Corbyn is opposed to police or special forces killing terrorists on the streets of Britain.
Former Cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw expressed dismay at Mr Corbyn's refusal to support the police in bringing an atrocity to an end
Ex-minister Ian Austin used Twitter to express his anger at his leader and the need for shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn to have to take to the airwaves to rescue Labour's reputation
At a stormy meeting of Labour MPs last night senior figures lined up to criticise Mr Corbyn's refusal to support the police and security agencies in their battle to keep Britain safe.
Former Cabinet ministers expressed dismay at the pacifist's stance, days after 129 people were slaughtered by ISIS fanatics in the French capital.
I'm not happy with the shoot to kill policy in general - I think that is quite dangerous and I think can often can be counter-productive
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
David Cameron has revealed that the scale of the Paris was larger than any plot previously foiled in the UK.
Special forces have been given orders to shoot to kill if jihadi gunmen launch a Paris-style attack on the streets of Britain.
But, in an interview with BBC News, Mr Corbyn said yesterday: 'I'm not happy with the shoot to kill policy in general – I think that is quite dangerous and I think can often can be counter-productive.
'I think you have to have security that prevents people firing off weapons where they can, there are various degrees of doing things as we know. But the idea you end up with a war on the streets is not a good thing.
'Surely you have to work to try and prevent these things happening, that's got to be the priority.'
The Labour leader also questioned if the drone strike which killed Jihadi John was legal - and refused to say if he would ever back military action against Islamic extremists.
Asked if he'd ever support action against Islamic extremists, Mr Corbyn replied: 'Well I'm not saying I would or I wouldn't – I'm saying it's a hypothetical question at this stage.'
In an extraordinary split at the top of the party, shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn today refused to support his leader's stance.
Challenged on Mr Corbyn's opposition to 'shoot to kill', Mr Benn repeatedly told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I cannot speak for Jeremy.'
It is perfectly reasonable, to prevent further loss of life, to use lethal force
Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn
Instead, Mr Benn defied his leader to insist police needed to have the power to bring a terror attack to an end.
'I am very clear that where there is an immediate threat to life - and the circumstances that those French forces faced when they went into the Bataclan concert hall on Friday night and there were the attackers there killing those who were attending the concert one by one - then long established procedures say it is perfectly reasonable, to prevent further loss of life, to use lethal force.
'These are split second decisions that police and armed forces have to take but we have to protect people and our policy remains the same.'
In a further show of division even among Labour's frontbench, shadow defence minister Kevan Jones added: 'No police officer takes decision to shoot lightly, but naive to think they shouldn't use lethal force to protect public.'
Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn defied his leader to insist police needed to have the power to bring a terror attack to an end
During a stormy meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, Mr Corbyn was repeatedly tackled over his comment that he opposes the shooting of terrorists by the police or armed forces, even if they are running amok.
One of the most devastating attacks on the Labour leader came from one of his own backbenchers - who said his niece had been caught up in the Paris atrocity.
Labour MP John Mann said the young woman was working at a bar next to one of the restaurants which was targeted and 'spent an hour in a toilet thinking she would be shot dead'.
He told Mr Corbyn: 'I expect if there's an opportunity to shoot dead any terrorist I expect security to shoot them dead – as they are entitled to do under the law.'
According to Huffington Post, Labour MP Ann Coffey told last night's meeting: 'When people are getting shot in cafe terraces in Paris, we don't want to be ruminating about shoot to kill policies.'
Former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said clear protocols were in place for shooting terrorists and that failure to support these would undermine the police and security services.
Ex-soldier Dan Jarvis also criticised his party leader, sources said.
Former Culture Secretary Ben Bradshaw wrote on Twitter: 'Please tell me it's not true Jeremy has said that faced with Kalashnikov wielding genocidal fascists our security forces should not shoot?'
Former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie told MailOnline: 'It's surely obvious to everyone that the police need the necessary powers to keep our communities - and themselves - safe.'
Mr Corbyn faced several questions over foreign policy, and was repeatedly interrupted as he set out his position that Britain must seek a political solution to the conflict and bombing would make it worse.
He was not clapped at the end of his speech – not even by his supporters - which has never happened at the regular weekly meeting of MPs.
According to the Mirror, one shadow minister said: 'He doesn't answer anything. He got roasted, he's a f****** disgrace.'
Another Labour MP MP said: 'The dissent was unbelievable.The leader and his shows foreign secretary addressed the same meeting giving diametrically opposed speeches.'
Mr Corbyn's spokesman said last night that 'a small minority' of Labour MPs 'expressed themselves volubly'.
Armed City of London Police were clearly visible as participants during Saturday's Lord Mayor's show as Britain beefed up its security
Tory MP James Cleverly, a member of the Territorial Army, said of the shoot-to-kill remarks: 'Once again, Jeremy Corbyn has failed to make the transition from debating society to real world politics.
'In a terrorist situation, the priority of counter terrorism police must be to secure the safety of British citizens, and to know that they have the support of politicians to do so.
'These fanatical terrorists have one objective: to kill as many people as they can. They cannot be negotiated with. Jeremy Corbyn might not like the idea of police shooting terrorists, but the alternative would be terrorists shooting more innocent people.'
Mike Hookem, Ukip's defence spokesman and a former soldier, said: 'It is utterly impractical to have a policy of 'shoot to wound' and in a life or death situation we must not make our security services fight with one arm tied behind their back.
'The Left seem intent on making life harder for us and easier for terrorists – presumably not to unbalance their 'human rights'.'
In the wake of the carnage in Paris, SAS officers have been deployed in the UK with orders to shoot to kill in order to minimise civilian casualties.
Police and the armed forces are understood to be operating under similar instructions in the event of a marauding attack by multiple gunmen.
And armed police officers will be on duty at Wembley Stadium tonight as the England football team play France. They were also seen at the ground last night during a training session for the French squad.
Labour MP John Mann (left) said his niece had been caught up in the Paris atrocity. Ex-soldier Dan Jarvis (right) also criticised his party leader, sources said
Armed Police keep watch during the France training session at Wembley Stadium last night. Police will also be patrolling around the ground at tonight's match between England and France
Mr Corbyn was also challenged over his links to the Stop The War Coalition campaign group, which was condemned on Saturday after blaming the Paris attacks on French military action in the Middle East.
In an article and tweet - since deleted - the group - which Mr Corbyn chaired until he became Labour leader - said Paris 'reaps the whirlwind of western support for extremist violence in Middle East'.
The group was later forced to insist there is 'absolutely no justification for the horrific shooting and bombing lf large numbers of innocent people in concerts, bars and cafes'.
However, it has since emerged that Mr Corbyn is due to attend a fundraiser for the group on December 11 - to the fury of Labour MPs.
Urged to condemn the article last night, Mr Corbyn replied feebly: 'I didn't write it.'
However in the BBC interview yesterday afternoon, Mr Corbyn also suggested that part of the responsibility for the Paris attacks lies with Britain's military interventions in the Middle East.
'We have created a situation where some of these forces have grown,' he said.
'We've got a record, all of the Western governments, of interventions all across the whole piece and has peace got better as a result of it? Well I think you know the answer as well as I do to that.'
In a separate interview with ITV, Mr Corbyn triggered still further controversy by 'questioning' whether the US drone strike which killed the IS monster Jihadi John on Friday had been legal.
He said: 'I would only authorise actions that are legal and within the terms of international law.'
In a speech last night, David Cameron took a swipe at Mr Corbyn, saying those who have criticised the decision to kill Jihadi John 'don't get the reality of the world we are in'.
He said the Labour leader did not seem to understand it was impossible to arrest the killer and his fellow terrorists in their Syrian stronghold.
The PM added: 'In that situation, you do not protect people by sitting around and wishing for another world - you have to act in this one. And that means being prepared to use military force where necessary.'
Last Friday, Mr Corbyn sparked a similar row within his own party after complaining that Jihadi John should have been put on trial.
Why British officers fear a much higher toll if a terror attack happens here in the UK, by border police expert CHRIS HOBBS
As the grotesque carnage in Paris unfolded, most British front-line police officers will have come to just one chilling conclusion: the death toll in a similar outrage here would be many times greater.
For while the French can throw hundreds of armed police on to the streets of Paris within minutes, and thousands within an hour or so, we simply can't.
Like a fire sweeping through an occupied house, minutes count if lives are to be saved in terrorist atrocities.
While the French can throw hundreds of armed police on to the streets of Paris within minutes, and thousands within an hour or so, we simply can't (pictured: French special forces secure Place de La Republique after a false attack alarm in Paris yesterday evening)
In France, all 278,000 police officers carry guns. The corresponding figure in Britain is just 6,000 (pictured: British armed police officers in St Pancras International Train Station yesterday afternoon)
Not only do the gunmen have to be located, they also have to be contained and – if necessary – confronted. This can be done only by armed officers.
In France, all 278,000 police officers carry guns. The corresponding figure in Britain is just 6,000, so the assurances from the Home Secretary, Theresa May, that procedures are 'in place' to deal with rapidly moving terrorist situations are greeted with deep scepticism.
Most police officers attending terrorist incidents are virtual spectators until an armed response vehicle (ARV) can be summoned to the scene.
Most police officers attending terrorist incidents are virtual spectators until an armed response vehicle can be summoned to the scene
The lack of ARVs has caused real concern among officers, particularly those in smaller, more rural forces, who believe they and the public are being placed at intolerable risk on a daily basis.
One officer from a county force told me that his nearest ARV would normally be at least 20 minutes away – often even further. No need to imagine how much damage can be done in 20 minutes by terrorists with automatic weapons.
But forces who want to expand their firearms teams are having difficulty recruiting in the wake of the high-profile police shootings of Azelle Rodney and Mark Duggan.
Although both men were armed criminals, the officer who shot Rodney was tried (and acquitted) for unlawful killing and those involved in the Duggan shooting were subjected to a three-and-a-half-year inquiry before being exonerated.
Is it any wonder armed units are struggling to attract and retain good officers?
Meanwhile, claims that Britain has 'strong border controls' smack of utter complacency to officers working at our air and sea ports.
We may be an island nation but the thousands arriving from war-torn regions in the backs of lorries and even private cars and caravans show we are far from secure.
Armed police are deployed and take aim in Place de la Republique during a false alarm yesterday evening
It would also be wrong to imagine that guns are not being trafficked across our borders.
Theresa May's creation, the UK Border Force, has suffered cutbacks and reorganisation.
Former customs officers, who have been reluctantly absorbed into it, are concerned that the importation of firearms and component parts of firearms is being gravely neglected.
Many customs officers skilled in detecting smuggled weaponry, have been, to their fury, deployed permanently to passport controls where, despite Home Office denials, the priority is still avoiding queues.
Another very real threat emanates from our prisons where extreme Muslim inmates exercise huge influence and where dangerous criminals have converted to the most virulent form of Islam.
Shortly before retiring, I studied some of these individuals: the prospect of them returning to our streets chills my blood.
The simple fact is Britain's police – brilliantly professional as they remain – are spread far too thinly. A security review, ordered by May, is currently under way.
Those on the front line hope that someone will listen to their views.
They are not holding their breath.
No comments:
Post a Comment