Donald Trump is a danger to the world, says Jeremy Corbyn

Donald Trump risks making the world a more dangerous place, Jeremy Corbyn has said, as he cited the US President’s increasingly hard-line rhetoric in relation to North Korea.

In a major speech on foreign policy, the Labour leader said the US President appeared determined to add to existing global dangers “by recklessly escalating the confrontation” with Kim Jong-un’s dictatorship on the Korean peninsula and unilaterally launching a missile strike on Syria.

“These problems are getting worse and fuelling threats and instability,” Mr Corbyn said.

“The global situation is becoming more dangerous.

“And the new US President seems determined to add to the dangers by recklessly escalating the confrontation with North Korea, unilaterally launching missile strikes on Syria, opposing President Obama’s nuclear arms deal with Iran and backing a new nuclear arms race.”

It comes after the political neophyte Mr Trump used his 100th day in office to warn about a “major, major conflict” between the US and the North Korean dictatorship, but added he was committed to resolving the diplomatic crisis peacefully.

“There is a chance that we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. Absolutely,” Mr Trump added in Washington last month.

Should Mr Corbyn win the general election on 8 June, a Labour government, he continued, would want a “strong and friendly relationship” with the US administration but added “we will not be afraid to speak our mind”.

“The US is the strongest military power on the planet by a very long way. It has a special responsibility to use its power with care and to support international efforts to resolve conflicts collectively and peacefully,” Mr Corbyn added.

“Waiting to see which way the wind blows in Washington isn’t strong leadership. And pandering to an erratic Trump administration will not deliver stability.”

The Labour leader also hit back at his critics, saying he “is no pacifist” and accepts that military action under international law as a genuine last resort “is necessary in some circumstances”.

But Mr Corbyn, who was a staunch opponent of the Iraq war during Tony Blair’s premiership, added that the “war on terror” that followed the 9/11 attacks of 2001 and unilateral interventions have been a failure. “They have not increased our security at home – rather the opposite – and they have caused destabilisation and devastation abroad,” he said.

He continued: “So no more hand-holding with Donald Trump – a Labour government will conduct a robust and independent foreign policy made in London.”

“This is the fourth general election in a row to be held while Britain is at war and our armed forces are in action in the Middle East and beyond.

“The ‘bomb first, talk later’ approach to security has failed. To persist with it, as the Conservative Government has made clear it is determined to do, is a recipe for increasing not reducing threats and insecurity.”