Manchester: Jeremy Corbyn right to blame terror attacks on UK foreign policy, says Barry Gardiner
Shadow Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner said military intervention in Libya had "caused chaos" and that Manchester bomber Salman Abedi had been radicalised as part of that process
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Your support makes all the difference.Labour’s Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner has laid the blame for western military interventions abroad for terrorist attacks in the UK and elsewhere, echoing remarks that will be made by Jeremy Corbyn in a speech later today.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Mr Gardiner said these things are "not simple and simplistic" and that "there is no simple causal relationship" but blamed the lack of proper planning for the aftermath of intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan and particularly Libya, for allowing extremism to foster.
“What Jeremy [Corbyn] is saying is that we need to profoundly reassess the way in which there are linkages," he said.
"Libya is a country in which we intervened. [Salman] Abedi is someone who fought against Gadaffi in Libya and was then radicalised as a result of that process.
"What we did there was we made a military intervention and then withdrew. That country has been in chaos. There was no planning for what might happen afterwards. Now, that country has women being sold in slave markets in its cities. That country is in chaos.
“Military intervention has gone in hard then lost its way. You can look back to Iraq, Afghanistan and see that the stabilisation of a country is so important."
Mr Gardiner said there were circumstances in which military intervention was justified, but when asked, did not name a single current or recent intervention which met the criteria.
Mr Corbyn will restart Labour’s general election campaign today, with a speech that will criticise the "war on terror."
"Our foreign policy reduces rather than increases the threat to this country," he wil say in London this morning.
"Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services, have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home," he will add.
A shock YouGov poll for The Times last night put Labour just five points behind the Conservatives, on 38 per cent to 43. When Theresa May called the election the gap was 24 points.
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