Responding on Monday to Prime Minister Theresa May’s condemnation of Russia for its attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn argued that Britain’s response to the Skripal attempt needed to be “focused on reducing conflicts and tensions rather than increasing them.”
This, in response to an attack that left an exceptionally toxic nerve agent at various sites in a Russian town, led to two civilians under British care becoming critically ill, and caused a police officer to become seriously ill.
Yet all Corbyn can say in response to this assault on his country is the diplomatic equivalent of making loud noises and bending over for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Of course, for Corbyn this is nothing new. The devout socialist actively benefited from Soviet intelligence support — albeit through cutouts — during the Cold War, and today he hangs out with Russian agents and is openly deferential to Putin’s foreign policy on issues like the Syrian civil war.
This speaks to a broader reality: When it comes to the man who wishes to become Britain’s next Prime Minister, British and U.S. enemies are normally Jeremy Corbyn friends.
Still, to be fair to Corbyn, he did make one legitimate point: Britain continues to tolerate far too much Russian money laundering and organized crime influence on its soil.
