Jeremy Corbyn reveals he was ‘appalled’ by MPs’ reaction to Hilary Benn’s pro-intervention Syria speech
The Commons erupted into spontaneous applause after Benn gave the last speech in favour of attacking the ‘fascists’ of Isis in Syria – to his own leader’s disgust
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Your support makes all the difference.Jeremy Corbyn has hit out angrily at his fellow MPs who cheered and applauded a passionate speech by Hillary Benn in favour of bombing Syria.
The vote on Syria more than two weeks ago was marked by the bizarre situation where the Labour leader and his own Foreign Secretary spoke out on opposite sides of the debate.
Mr Benn’s pro-intervention speech was the dramatic finale of more than 11 hours of debating, in which he urged the house that “we must now confront this evil” of Isis.
But speaking to the Sunday Times in an interview marking his 100 days as leader, Mr Corbyn said he was “appalled” by those who gave Mr Benn a resounding ovation.
“I did not agree with it. I was appalled that MPs should clap, shout and cheer when we were deciding to go and bomb somewhere. Parliament is supposed to be serious. It’s not a place for jingoistic cheering.”
Mr Corbyn has made clear in recent days that he is planning a shadow Cabinet reshuffle, as well as a rethink of how his top team operates in general.
After their very public differences on key matters of defence and foreign policy, Mr Benn’s position is expected to be the most precarious.
But appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday morning, another senior shadow Cabinet member directly contradicted her leader.
Asked whether she thought the reaction to Mr Benn was “jingoistic”, the shadow Business Secretary Angela Eagle said: “No, I don’t think it was.
“I think it was genuine admiration for the case that had been made by Hilary Benn, which I have to say was far better than the case that the Prime Minister managed to make.”
Speaking to HuffPost UK, Mr Corbyn said the reported fact that Britain has yet to fire any of its much-vaunted Brimstone missiles in Syria “proves something” about Mr Cameron’s intervention.
He said: “I think we rushed into something without enough thought. I made my point in my own speech to Parliament, very carefully. I asked a series of questions and I don’t believe I had proper answers to those questions.”
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