Tag: Nia Griffith

Jeremy Corbyn has defied critics in his own party and warned the prime minister against “rushing way ahead of the evidence” over the Salisbury poisoning, in what he called the “fevered” atmosphere of Westminster. The Labour leader used an article in the Guardian to urge the government to take a “calm, measured” approach – and warn against the drift towards a “new cold war” with Russia. The Salisbury attack was appalling. “This horrific event demands first of all the most thorough and painstaking criminal investigation, conducted by our police and security services,” he said. “However, that does not mean we should resign ourselves to a ‘new cold war’ of escalating arms spending, proxy conflicts across the globe and a McCarthyite intolerance of dissent.” Play Video 2:07 Corbyn backed May’s decision to expel 23 diplomats, but suggested a financial crackdown on Russian oligarchs would be more effective. The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, also pledged to “hammer” money-laundering, saying that would be a more effective weapon against Vladimir Putin’s regime than expelling diplomats. However, despite McDonnell’s tough stance, Corbyn’s remarks are likely to reignite tensions in the parliamentary Labour party over the leadership’s tough response to the Russia crisis. Nineteen Labour MPs have signed an early day motion, tabled by Barrow MP John Woodcock – a longtime Corbyn critic – putting on the record their full backing for May and the measures she announced. The shadow defence secretary, Nia Griffith, publicly questioned the connection drawn by Corbyn’s spokesman, between intelligence in the Salisbury case and the “dodgy dossier” that helped make the case for the Iraq war. “I will be tougher on Russian money than the government and clearer about how to do it,” McDonnell said.