Headlines in the Times, Telegraph and the Independent this week suggested Labour leadership frontrunner Jeremy Corbyn had told Kremlin-backed news channel RT he wanted to cosy up to Russia.
The Times ran with “Corbyn hints at closer ties to Russia in rethink of security”, which was then followed up by the Telegraph with “Jeremy Corbyn hints at Russia ties” and the Independent plumping for “Corbyn hints that he wants warmer relations with Russia”.
None, however, linked to the interview on YouTube … which is probably for the best, given that anyone watching the video might notice that the prospective leader never mentions Russia, or suggests much more than the UK having “some kind of respectful existence” with the rest of the world.
Monkey suspects the red terror hysteria came from an overenthusiastic headline writer at the Times, who seems to have interpreted the original article’s restrained intro (“Britain should try harder to get on with its international opponents and treat them with more respect, Jeremy Corbyn has told Russia Today”), coupled with Corbyn’s appearance on a channel not known for its balanced attitude towards the west, as an indication he wanted to invite Vladimir Putin round for tea.
