Jeremy Corbyn: It would have been right to arrest IS leader, not kill him

13 November 2019, 14:34 | Updated: 13 November 2019, 14:49

Jeremy Corbyn has told LBC that US troops were wrong to kill IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and he should have been arrested instead.

The Labour leader had been branded a “terrorist sympathiser” by a Church of Scotland minister and was asked why he wasn’t wearing an “Islamic jihad scarf” during a visit to a community centre.

The Labour leader was also asked “who’s going to be the first terrorist invited to the House of Commons when you’re Prime Minister” during the visit in Glasgow.

LBC's reporter asked Mr Corbyn whether the death of al-Baghdadi was a good thing and he responded: "Him being removed from the scene is a very good thing.

"If it would have been possible to arrest him - I don't know the details of the circumstances at the time, I've only seen various statements put out by the US about it - surely that would have been the right thing to do.

"If we want to live in a world of peace and justice, we should practice it as well."

Asked what he could say to assuage the minister's concerns, Mr Corbyn told LBC: "We live in a world where there are huge levels of danger and insecurity, brought about by wars, by intervention, by human rights abuses and by climate change.

"I want to lead a government that's serious about human rights abuses around the world, that won't be selling arms to Saudi Arabia and will support the continuation of the Iran nuclear deal."