The Labour leader said “I would want to avoid us getting involved militarily by building up the diplomatic relationships”.
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Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith have been fighting an increasingly bitter head-to-head battle for the Labour leadership since former Pensions Secretary Angela Eagle pulled out of the race on 19 July, backing Smith. “He has lost the confidence of more than 80% of Labour’s MPs in parliament – and I am afraid we simply can not afford to go on like this”, Khan wrote.
The Labour leader refused to give concrete assurance that he would uphold the principle of “collective defence”, instead saying he would want to talk with Vladimir Putin.
Labour had campaigned for Britain to remain in the European Union (EU) but Corbyn – the extreme left-wing MP who was elected leader of the main Opposition party in a landslide victory previous year – was believed to be more inclined towards Brexit despite campaigning for remain.
The camera soon pans to a smiling Mr Corbyn, after a roar of cheers, who says: “Hi Jack, alright?”
He said: “We win them over on the basis that we can create a society where we do provide decent housing for all, where we do provide real security for all in work”.
However, over 80 percent of the party’s MPs recently backed a no-confidence vote in Corbyn, and an election was triggered when little-known MP Smith, 46, launched a leadership challenge.
Many in the party were displeased with Corbyn’s leadership during the referendum campaign.
Mr Corbyn is the bookies favourite to win. “We got 9m, they got 11m”. Just 25% of respondents said he was doing a satisfactory job as Labour leader, while a massive 54% thought Theresa May was doing a good job as prime minister.
Yet the two men behind this obliteration in Scotland, Jim Murphy and John McTernan, are now being wheeled out to heap criticism on Jeremy Corbyn.
Writing in The Guardian, she said: “I wasn’t part of a plot”.
Jeered at one point by some members of the audience, Mr Smith criticised the bitter party infighting that had led members to “treat one another in a deeply uncomradely fashion”.
In contrast his rival Owen Smith said: “We would have to come to the aid of a fellow member of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation”.
Pushed on whether he would become involved if he had to, he said: “I don’t wish to go to war. That can be done”.
Of the endorsement, Smith said he was “honoured” and praised Khan’s mayoral election campaign.
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Khans intervention comes a day before the official ballot papers for the Labour party leadership election start going out to partys membership in the post.
