EXCL Ex-military boss says soldiers who shot Jeremy Corbyn target 'need kick up the backside'
2 min read
A ex-military chief has said soldiers who used a picture of Jeremy Corbyn for target practise need “a kick up the backside”.
Labour peer Lord West - the former boss of the navy - told PoliticsHome the stunt by military personel in Kabul was “stupid”.
The Ministry of Defence has launched a probe after a video emerged showing British soldiers firing at a target of the Labour leader with the caption: “Happy with that.”
It displays at least four soldiers firing multiple rounds at a number of targets, one of which looks like Mr Corbyn addressing a Labour conference.
Ex-Labour defence minister Lord West told this site: “It was a stupid thing for them to have done. Not at all clever.
“I think they need to have whoever their officers are to give them a kick up the backside. Squaddies occasionally do stupid things.”
Lord Richards, the former chief of the defence staff, meanwhile added: “The army is clearly taking this incident very seriously, as it should.
“I am confident it is completely unrepresentative of the politically neutral stance that the armed forces all hold dear.”
A military source told PoliticsHome the footage was “disgraceful” - but insisted the army would deal with it.
According to Sky News, the military personnel were firing simulated paint rounds rather than real bullets.
Labour Shadow Defence Secretary Nia Griffith said the video was “shocking and completely unacceptable”.
She wrote to Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson calling on him to condendm it and to ensure the probe by the MoD is “thorough and carried out in a timely manner”.
Other MPs have also weighed in to condemn the stunt. Prisons minister Rory Stewart said it was “completely wrong,” while ex-soldier and Tory MP Tom Tugendhat said it was “disgraceful”.
A spokesperson for Theresa May said the video was “completely unacceptable”.
An MoD spokesperson said: “We are aware of a video circulating on social media. This behaviour is totally unacceptable and falls well below the high standards the army expects.
They added: “A full investigation has been launched.”
A Labour spokesman said: “This behaviour is alarming and unacceptable. We have confidence in the MoD to investigate and act on this incident.”
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