Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Politics
Samuel Osborne

Jeremy Corbyn is 'incompetent' says shadow Defence Minister

Labour's shadow Defence Minister says Jeremy Corbyn's "incompetent" leadership means the party is failing to scrutinise the Conservative Government over military intervention in Syria.

Kevan Jones says MPs are losing patience with the Labour leader and says "it is not about right or left" political leanings.

After allowing his party a free vote on the question of whether Britain should extend its military operations against Isis to Syria, Mr Corbyn made the case against bombing while shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn asked Labour MPs to back the Government.

Mr Jones told the Evening Chronicle: "What annoys me is that because of his position - right from the start he has not wanted to so anything about the issue - we have failed again to properly interrogate the Government.

"What I’m getting really frustrated about - as a lot of other people are - is that time and time again, because of his incompetence, the Tories are getting away with things that are not being properly scrutinised and the people who are suffering are the ones that we represent.

"It is not about left or right, this is about the incompetent way things are being done.

"This is a nasty, smaller-state Government and we are not taking the fight to them and exposing them for what they are."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.