Sunday political interviews round-up: Corbyn refuses to explicitly condemn the IRA

Jeremy Corbyn – ‘All bombing should be condemned’

Jeremy Corbyn refused on several occasions to explicitly condemn the bombing campaign of the IRA in the 1980s, repeatedly insisting instead that ‘all bombing is wrong’. Asked six times by Sophy Ridge about his stance on the issue, Corbyn appeared reluctant to single out condemnation of the IRA. Instead, he made clear his opposition to all bombing:

SR: Time and time again it does appear as though you backed people who opposed the British forces. You were arrested at a demonstration in support of an IRA terrorist in 1986. You were a regular at IRA linked ‘Troops Out rallies’. You didn’t support the SDLP who were trying to pursue a united Ireland through peaceful means. So how can you say you were trying to talk to all sides of the agreement when it does appear as though there was one clear side that you were backing, and that is hard line republicans?’

JC: I worked with colleagues in Parliament, in the SDLP and the Labour party.