The Russian spy row could help Corbyn

It seems obvious, doesn’t it? Jeremy Corbyn, in a comment piece in the Guardian, continues to insist that Putin might not have been behind the Salisbury attack – when even his shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, says there is ‘prima facie evidence’ of the involvement of the Russian government. Labour backbenchers sign a motion pointedly calling for ‘unequivocal’ recognition of Russian government involvement – exactly what Corbyn has refused to give. And that is just the internal opposition from within the Labour party. Political commentators are scathing of his position, myself included. His attempt to use Wednesday’s statement by the Prime Minister as an opportunity to attack government cuts in the diplomatic service seems to mark a new low – and show that while he poses as a man of high principle, he is as much a political opportunist as the rest of them.