Alan Johnson hits out at 'narrow sectarian left' backing Jeremy Corbyn
2 min read
Former Cabinet minister Alan Johnson has compared the “narrow sectarian left” at the top of today’s Labour party to Militant.
Mr Johnson, who stood down from Parliament at the recent election after 20 years as an MP, said Jeremy Corbyn was “thoroughly decent” but argued that those around him were “intolerant” of dissent.
Speaking to RT UK, the former home secretary was asked whether Labour’s gains on 8 June had shut down his hopes for Labour centrists to regain the upper hand in the party.
“The honest answer to that is yes because just as Jeremy Corbyn and the campaign group were vehemently opposed to the leadership of Gordon Brown and Tony Blair and Neil Kinnock and almost everyone before that – probably Keir Hardie was ok! – I feel the same way,” he said.
“I feel this narrow sectarian left that is intolerant of other views is what is there behind Jeremy Corbyn, who is thoroughly decent and never says a bad word about anyone.
“But behind him there’s something that reminds me of Militant in the early ‘80s.”
Mr Johnson has been a frequent critic of Mr Corbyn since he took over as Labour leader.
As the head of Labour’s pro-Remain campaign, he was particularly critical of Mr Corbyn’s efforts in last year’s referendum and accused his office of “actively undermining” the efforts to stay in the EU.
He also claimed last year that Mr Corbyn was “not up to the job” of being Leader of the Opposition.
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