Jeremy Corbyn has come under fire for appearing to compare Islamic State atrocities to actions by the US military in Iraq.
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The surprise frontrunner in the Labour leadership contest made the controversial comments in June last year in an interview with Moscow-funded news and propaganda channel Russia Today.
Corbyn’s comment about Fallujah is likely a reference to US military operations there in 2004 in which as many as 800 Iraqis, the vast majority of them civilians, were killed. “Under our Labour, we will make this apology”.
Ms Cooper as well her fellow candidate Liz Kendall have said they would not serve in a Corbyn Shadow Cabinet; so too have Mr Umunna and Shadow Chancellor Chris Leslie.
Corbyn will issue a statement saying sorry for the invasion of Iraq if he wins the battle to succeed Ed Miliband as party leader in the hotly contested race.
Paddy Power said the veteran leftie is now certain to win and is paying out £100,000 in the “most dramatic turnaround in political betting history”.
Also as a precursor to possible Labour relations with the US should he become the party’s leader or even the next UK prime minister, Corbyn said London’s relationship with the US would be better in the long term if it were not regarded as likely to follow the White House without question.
“I am aware that my local MP, Simon Danzcuk, has already announced in the press, “I’d do all I could to oust Corbyn from leadership” and fear that stopping ordinary people like me from voting in the election is the beginning of the “coup” that Mr Danczuk has already talked about”.
Such an apology would be important symbolically – particularly in a party where Iraq remains a sore point, 12 years after Britain joined the US in the invasion – and signal a wider departure from existing Labour’s defence and foreign policy.
The hundreds of supporters packing out town halls, theatres and clubs across Britain “is really amazing”, said the bookies’ favourite.
In what has been dubbed the #LabourPurge over social media, the Labour Party is now rejecting huge numbers of applications to become a member, trade union affiliate, or supporter of the party in order to vote in the election.
“Paddy Power is PAYING OUT a whopping £100k on Jeremy Corbyn as the next leader of the Labour party”.
“It has also lost Labour the votes of millions of our natural supporters, who marched and protested against the war”.
“We turned our backs on them and many of them have either withheld their votes from us or felt disillusioned, unenthusiastic and unmotivated”.
“Jeremy has been nominated by more Constituency Labour Parties than any other leadership candidate and clearly enjoys the support of tens of thousands of ordinary Labour Party members and supporters. Let us make it clear that Labour will never make the same mistake again, will never flout the United Nations and international law”.
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Prime Minister David Cameron’s government is considering asking parliament to approve airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria.
