Jeremy Corbyn: I would vote Remain in another EU referendum
3 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has said he would vote Remain if another EU referendum took place.
The Labour leader's comment came two days after Theresa May refused to say whether she would back Brexit if the vote was re-run.
Speaking to ITV, Mr Corbyn said: "There isn't going to be another referendum, so it's a hypothetical question. But yes, I voted Remain because I thought the best option was to remain. I haven't changed my mind on that.
"But we accept the result of the referendum therefore we want to make sure we obtain tariff-free access to the European markets and protection of all the rights and membership of agencies we have achieved through the European Union membership."
Mr Corbyn also said British Islamic State member Sally Jones should have been put on trial rather than targeted by the drone strike which is thought to have killed her.
The Labour leader said the notorious terrorist - dubbed the White Widow - could have passed on vital information if she had been captured alive.
According to The Sun, the CIA believes Ms Jones was killed in an airstrike near the Iraq-Syria border in June.
Mr Corbyn refused to say today if he would have ordered the drone strike on the notorious Isis recruiter if he had been Prime Minister.
“I think it’s difficult to give an answer to that question which is hypothetical,” he told ITV news. “I think we have to look at very carefully the effects on the civilian population of any bombing that takes place before such a decision is made but you have to look at all the facts first.”
He added: "I think people who have committed crimes ought to be put on trial...
"When you interrogate somebody you get more information about the background to it."
Earlier this year Mr Corbyn refused to say if he would sanction a drone strike on Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
And in 2016 he suggested he could end the bombing campaign against the militant group in the Middle East, saying he would prefer to “go back to a political solution”.
His Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey earlier today hinted that she would have supported the drone strike against Ms Jones.
“It’s a question for our security services to choose proportionate and measured strength in determining appropriate drone strikes and appropriate action to extinguish ISIS,” she told Sky News.
“But action does need to be taken.”
Asked about Ms Jones, a spokesperson for Theresa May said today: “The UK advises against all travel to Syria.
"As all UK consular services are suspended in Syria it is extremely difficult to confirm the whereabouts and the status of British nationals there."
“Anyone who does travel to Syria for whatever reason is putting themselves in considerable danger - particularly if they are fighting for our enemies.”
Ms Jones left her home in Chatham, Kent, with her 12-year-old son JoJo in 2013 to join Islamic State in Syria.
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