MPs criticise Corbyn for raising Israel during UK armed forces welfare debate
Luke Akehurst says Islington North MP's 'degree of dedication to one particular policy area' is 'slightly disturbing'
A Labour MP has described it as “disturbing” to see Jeremy Corbyn attempt to introduce issues relating to Israel into debate focused primarily on the welfare of the UK’s armed forces during a debate in the House of Commons.
On Monday night, MPs debated the Armed Forces Bill.
Corbyn asked the House to support his amendments regarding the rights of British nationals to participate in foreign conflicts.
“What brought them about is reports that British nationals have been involved in Israel Defence Forces activities in Gaza and other places,” said the former Labour leader.
He added, “To prevent this from happening in future, my amendments would amend the Visiting Forces Act 1952 to give the Secretary of State power to undertake some form of legal action against those individuals.”
This prompted an angry response from Luke Akehurst MP, who had sat on the Select Committee established to scrutinise the Bill.
Rising to speak in the Commons, he then noticed that Corbyn had briefly left the Commons.
“I am very sorry that the Member for Islington North is not in his place, because it would have been a delight to cross swords with him metaphorically,” said Akehurst, whose North Durham constituency, he pointed out, is home to a considerable number of veterans, as well as the families of service personnel.
Akehurst continued:”I am really quite flabbergasted that in new clauses 1 and 2 he has managed to insert issues relating to the Middle East into a debate that is primarily about the welfare of the armed forces here in the UK.”
“It was extremely imaginative of him to manage to do that, which perhaps indicates a degree of dedication to one particular policy area that is in some ways commendable and in other ways slightly disturbing.”
“I am sorry he is not here, because I would have been delighted to have taken an intervention from him on that subject.”
Earlier, Corbyn had sought support for his amendments, stating: “To me, it seems very obvious and very important that if, as a general principle, we say that British nationals should not be allowed to fight for a foreign force, or to engage in a war in another country under a different command, we should do something about it legally.
“My amendments are widely supported and carefully drafted, and I hope the Minister will understand why I tabled them and their importance.”
He continued, “I never thought that in my lifetime, we would be able to watch genocide taking place live on television, as is happening in Gaza.”
“My amendments clearly state that if cases are taken to the International Court of Justice or the International Criminal Court, that would be enough to trigger action by the Secretary of State in this country. That is why I tabled them, and I hope that the House will take them seriously and support them.”
The Democratic Unionist Party’s Sammy Wilson also condemned Corbyn’s actions, stating: “They represent more of his obsession with finding ways of trying to batter Israel than really being concerned about the welfare of soldiers.”
Earlier, former Armed Forces Minister Al Cairns MP noted that the Bill was intended to create the Defence Housing Service, which he called “a fantastic move forward; it will change for a generation how our people are looked after in service family accommodation.”
He also said the legislation would make major improvements to our service justice system and would look at how we renew our reservists and extend duty for our strategic reserves.
“The Bill looks to extend service from anything from four to sixteen years,” said Cairns. “It allows for the return to service of ex-military personnel until they are sixty-five.”
“That is being standardised across officers, other ranks, the Navy, the Army and the Air Force. By doing that, we will increase our strategic reserve pool. If we get caught in a crisis in any way, shape or form, their skills can be harnessed to help the nation out,” he added.
Ultimately, Corbyn withdrew his amendments to the Bill.
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