Jack Straw's Damning Take On National Security Under A Corbyn Government
19 February 2019, 17:20 | Updated: 19 February 2019, 18:29
Jeremy Corbyn's history of supporting terrorist groups is giving him difficulty in convincing the public that Britain would be kept safe in his hands, says former Home Secretary Jack Straw.
Speaking to Eddie Mair, Jack Straw said that he has heard the Labour leader "speak up in support" of groups like the IRA.
"I've heard him speak up in support of the IRA and come out with some extraordinary special pleading on their behalf", he said.
The former Home Secretary also alluded to Mr Corbyn's meeting with Hamas and Hezbollah, adding that "you’ve got to be careful about the terms in which you talk to these people".
"Jeremy Corbyn has got a lot to prove if people are going to be satisfied that national security is going to be safe in his hands," he said.
"Mr Corbyn's difficulty in convincing the British public and me about whether the county would be safe in his hands is his record in his past," Mr Straw said.
"It’s nothing to do with Palestine, I don’t remotely share Mr Corbyn's view about the State of Israel or the Israeli government, but this is about his support for terrorist groups.
"I’ve heard him speak up in support of the IRA and come out with some extraordinary special pleading on their behalf.
"He has also been very keen in the past on us leaving NATO.
"He’s got a lot to prove in the meanwhile, and so has his shadow Home Secretary Diane about and his shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry."
When Eddie put to him that these are very senior positions who are still to convince him that Labour are a threat to national security, Mr Straw replied: "Yes."
"They’ve got to work hard on this because of where they’ve come from."
