Michael Fallon: Jeremy Corbyn 'putting UK at risk' by failing to back Nato allies
2 min read
Jeremy Corbyn is putting the UK and its allies at risk by refusing to pledge military support for a Nato member attacked by Russia, according to Sir Michael Fallon.
The Defence Secretary hit out after the Labour leader again stopped short of saying he would deploy troops to come to the aid of a country targeted by Russian aggression.
In an interview with CNN, Mr Corbyn said: "The Nato charter asks for acts of solidarity and support. It is not necessarily military; it can be diplomatic. It can be economic. It can be a lot of things. What I want is dialogue between Nato and Russia.”
But Sir Michael said that risked "giving succour" to Britain's enemies.
He said: "For nearly 70 years Nato has helped keep this country and our allies safe through collective defence. Nato’s charter is very clear, an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all allies.
"Jeremy Corbyn’s comments put our security and the security of our Eastern European allies at risk at a time of growing Russian aggression and international threats.
"The Labour party must be crystal clear about whether it supports collective defence or will give succour to those who attack our democratic peace and security."
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Elsewhere in his CNN interview, Mr Corbyn hinted that Labour's next manifesto could commit to unilateral nuclear disarmament.
Mr Corbyn said while the current policy was to pursue "multilateral disarmament", he added: "We haven't written the manifesto for the next election yet.
"But that was what was in the manifesto in which we just gained nearly 13 million votes. But we're very clear, very, very clear, that nuclear weapons really must be negotiated away as quickly as possible.
"It is the policy of the Labour party to seek multilateral disarmament. And that is what the government would try to do. But we'd do it with real determination.
"And I would absolutely be totally on the case because I've spent my life working for a nuclear-free world."
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