Labour leader warns of rushing into new Cold War without full evidence

 

The leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn responds to Britain's Prime Minister Teresa May's address to the House of Commons on her government's reaction to the poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury, in London, March 14, 2018. Parliament TV handout via REUTERS

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn warned on Friday against rushing into a new Cold War with Russia before full evidence of Moscow's culpability in a military-grade nerve toxin attack on a former double agent is proven.

 

Prime Minister Theresa May said Russia was behind the Novichok nerve agent attack on Sergei Skripal, a former colonel in Russian military intelligence who betrayed dozens of Russian agents to Britain.

 

Skripal and his daughter Yulia have been critically ill in hospital since March 4 when they were found slumped unconscious on a bench outside a shopping centre in the English city of Salisbury. A British policeman was also injured.

 

After the first known offensive use of such a weapon on European soil since World War Two, May gave 23 Russians who she said were spies working under diplomatic cover at the London embassy a week to leave.

 

But Corbyn, who has been criticised for taking a much more cautious approach to the poisoning, said that rushing ahead of the evidence in a fevered atmosphere did not serve national security.

 

"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 wrote in an article in the Guardian newspaper.

 

"This horrific event demands first of all the most thorough and painstaking criminal investigation."

 

The 68-year-old socialist leader said Labour did not support Putin and that Russia should be held to account if it was behind the attack.

 

"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," Corbyn said.

 

Corbyn suggested that the Russian mafia, which he said had been allowed to gain a toehold in Britain, might be behind the attack and said Britain should stop accepting corrupt money from the former Soviet Union.

 

"We must stop servicing Russian crony capitalism in Britain, and the corrupt billionaires who use London to protect their wealth," he said.

 

"We agree with the government’s action in relation to Russian diplomats, but measures to tackle the oligarchs and their loot would have a far greater impact on Russia’s elite than limited tit-for-tat expulsions."

 

Corbyn was once written off by both his own party and May's Conservatives, but his unexpectedly strong result in last year's national election has convinced many of Labour's opponents that Corbyn is a potential prime minister if May's government falls.

 

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Kate Holton)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-03-16

You don't have to be a genius to connect the deaths of Litvinenkok, Berezovsky, the two recent poisonings and however many other mysterious deaths of Russians there are, to realise who is behind them. 

 

Corbyn is utterly pathetic playing party politics on matters of national security and grave danger to citizens. 

The best thing our government can do is present a sample of the nerve agent to an independent third party for analysis. That would put all this to bed once and for all.

23 minutes ago, Khun Han said:

The best thing our government can do is present a sample of the nerve agent to an independent third party for analysis. That would put all this to bed once and for all.

That is exactly what is happening. There is an International body to do exactly that, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), who are being called in to verify things. I think in this case it is in no doubt where the nerve agent originated from. The big question is who was behind its delivery, either the Russian state, or a rogue element, acting on its own volition, without State approval.

Regardless, the Russian Government attitude is not helpful. If it is genuinely not behind it, it should be cooperating as much as possible to identify who did actually commit the deed. Its simple denial leads one to believe they simply do not care, or worse, are guilty.

 

Remember Saddam's WMD's ?

Jeremy Corbyn is right not to rush to judgement

 

my bet is russia wins this new cold war.  the USA won't be doing much on this matter so it will be up to the UK and the EU.  i don't see the EU making any dramatic changes to how they deal with the russians based on a couple of poisonings (death and/or possible death) in the UK.  the UK can't win on it's own.  feel free to tell the oligarchs to go elsewhere with their money.  plenty of places that will take them.  the weather might be a bit better also !!!  (although i know they are used to the cold so it might be a tough transition to a nice warm climate).

11 minutes ago, buick said:

my bet is russia wins this new cold war.  the USA won't be doing much on this matter so it will be up to the UK and the EU.  i don't see the EU making any dramatic changes to how they deal with the russians based on a couple of poisonings (death and/or possible death) in the UK.  the UK can't win on it's own.  feel free to tell the oligarchs to go elsewhere with their money.  plenty of places that will take them.  the weather might be a bit better also !!!  (although i know they are used to the cold so it might be a tough transition to a nice warm climate).

Da.

Anyone worried about Corbyn being next PM should be assured that he now has no chance. We all understand his point and he is actually technically correct. But his timing and choice of words was worthy of Michael Foot! His heart is surely in the right place but a leader? No, sorry. NEXT!

3 hours ago, webfact said:

before full evidence of Moscow's culpability in a military-grade nerve toxin attack on a former double agent is proven.

he might be right but in a lightly spoken side way; some might say she needs a rallying cry, real or perceived or false, to buttress her waning popularity

8 hours ago, darksidedog said:

That is exactly what is happening. There is an International body to do exactly that, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), who are being called in to verify things. I think in this case it is in no doubt where the nerve agent originated from. The big question is who was behind its delivery, either the Russian state, or a rogue element, acting on its own volition, without State approval.

Regardless, the Russian Government attitude is not helpful. If it is genuinely not behind it, it should be cooperating as much as possible to identify who did actually commit the deed. Its simple denial leads one to believe they simply do not care, or worse, are guilty.

 

 

That's good news about the independent verification. Is there a link to this news?

 

Without appearing to take sides with Russia, our government has refused to work with them on this matter, with Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson rebuking Russia in an undiplomatic and downright childish manner.

Good that Corbyn can offer up an alternative viewpoint instead of riding on Theresa May's bandwaggon, which is the easy option. 

Anyone from anywhere with substantial wealth can buy up property and live freely in the UK, regardless of how they came about their wealth. The UK should not be a dumping ground for other countries' rubbish.

 

The best thing our government can do is present a sample of the nerve agent to an independent third party for analysis. That would put all this to bed once and for all.

They are

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13 minutes ago, juice777 said:

They are

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 

 

Thanks. As per my reply to darksidedog, could you provide a link to this?

 
Thanks. As per my reply to darksidedog, could you provide a link to this?

Here is one I Just put it in Google not read it but it was in her Speach anyway.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/uk-send-poison-sample-opcw-nerve-attack-spy-180315080321509.html



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8 minutes ago, juice777 said:

Here is one I Just put it in Google not read it but it was in her Speach anyway.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/03/uk-send-poison-sample-opcw-nerve-attack-spy-180315080321509.html



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That link states that our government will submit a sample, not that they have. But thanks for the link anyway.

15 hours ago, Khun Han said:

The best thing our government can do is present a sample of the nerve agent to an independent third party for analysis. That would put all this to bed once and for all.

The result may reveal that the product was made in Russia, so what? Kalashnikov rifles are a product of Russia too.

 

The result may reveal that the product was made in Russia, so what? Kalashnikov rifles are a product of Russia too.
 

You can probably buy kalashnikov rifles legally. You can't buy nerve gas so best case scenario for the Russians it was stolen. Which they have had time to amit to which they haven't.

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1 hour ago, SouthernDelight said:

The result may reveal that the product was made in Russia, so what? Kalashnikov rifles are a product of Russia too.

 

As if others can't produce the exact same pruduct.

16 hours ago, darksidedog said:

That is exactly what is happening. There is an International body to do exactly that, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), who are being called in to verify things. I think in this case it is in no doubt where the nerve agent originated from. The big question is who was behind its delivery, either the Russian state, or a rogue element, acting on its own volition, without State approval.

Regardless, the Russian Government attitude is not helpful. If it is genuinely not behind it, it should be cooperating as much as possible to identify who did actually commit the deed. Its simple denial leads one to believe they simply do not care, or worse, are guilty.

 

1+1=2

As if others can't produce the exact same pruduct.

I herd all Nerve agents have a DNA what can be traced back to its source and the exact nerve agent can not be copied. I imagine All this will come out after it has been tested by the OPCW.

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Side benefit for Putin.

 

The guy (Putin) is on a roll.

 

Half expecting the Russian side to win WC/2018.

 

 

When I read the headline I thought JC had gone off the deep end. 

 

Having read the story, he actually makes sense. 

Corbyn would not speak out against Russia unless they were parading NK style through the streets of London, and then it would only be 'nice flags, comrade'

22 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

Corbyn would not speak out against Russia unless they were parading NK style through the streets of London, and then it would only be 'nice flags, comrade'

Really?

 

From the OP:

 

”We agree with the government’s action in relation to Russian diplomats, but measures to tackle the oligarchs and their loot would have a far greater impact on Russia’s elite than limited tit-for-tat expulsions."

19 hours ago, Topdoc said:

Remember Saddam's WMD's ?

Jeremy Corbyn is right not to rush to judgement

 

Not sure of the comparison. The WMD's did not exist, or at least were never found. Are you suggesting that the guy did not die from a nerve gas? Perhaps indigestion or a bad cold????

2 minutes ago, RandG said:

Not sure of the comparison. The WMD's did not exist, or at least were never found. Are you suggesting that the guy did not die from a nerve gas? Perhaps indigestion or a bad cold????

I dare say this new guy accidently caught himself in the curtains too if Corbyn has his say. 

Just in case the public was unsure about just how treasonous and anti-british JC actually is, the propaganda wing of the Tory party has helped us see things as they really are.

 

13 minutes ago, RandG said:

Not sure of the comparison. The WMD's did not exist, or at least were never found. Are you suggesting that the guy did not die from a nerve gas? Perhaps indigestion or a bad cold????

 

They haven't died yet......Brits are keeping them hidden and pretending like they have.

Could've been too much Fentanyl?

18 hours ago, YetAnother said:

he might be right but in a lightly spoken side way; some might say she needs a rallying cry, real or perceived or false, to buttress her waning popularity

Agree entirely.

 

Why has the attempted murder of a double agent become the no.1 news item???

 

Govts. know that a number of 'diplomatic staff' are actually spies/agents - and throw them out every now and again as part of 'the game' (and more importantly, for media purposes....) - to make it look as if they're reacting strongly to an 'attack' from the other country - to boost their popularity....

 

 

55 minutes ago, RandG said:

Not sure of the comparison. The WMD's did not exist, or at least were never found. Are you suggesting that the guy did not die from a nerve gas? Perhaps indigestion or a bad cold????

Quite, the WMDs did not exist - but were a great excuse for invading an annoying country to depose the annoying leader.

 

Not to mention, for some incomprehensible reason (to me anyway), wars encourage the population to become more patriotic and support the govt....