WATCH: Jeremy Corbyn takes aim at 'phoney' media over lip-reading row as he blasts 'stupid' Tories
3 min read
Jeremy Corbyn has accused "most of the media" of failing to cover homelessness as he doubled down on his description of the Conservatives as "stupid".
In an online video, the Labour leader claimed that a majority of news outlets had failed to cover a dramatic rise in homelessness deaths in favour of "phoney" claims he had called Theresa May a "stupid woman".
A furious sexism row erupted in the Commons on Wednesday after Mr Corbyn was accused by Tory MPs of uttering the comment after clashing with Theresa May at Prime Minister's Questions.
Mr Corbyn and his spokesperson have maintained that he instead said "stupid people", however, and accused the Conservatives of whipping up the row to distract from the potential effects of a no-deal Brexit.
In a video posted to his social media followers, Mr Corbyn said: "Yesterday the Tories tried to turn Parliament into a pantomime, tried to turn it into a pantomime when there are very serious issues.
"I was accused of saying something I didn't say. Did I say 'stupid people'? Yeah, I did because I think they are.
"Because I think turning Parliament into a pantomime is an act of unbelievable stupidity.
He added: "They should be facing up to the real issues that people in our country face about the danger of a no-deal Brexit with all the chaos that will bring.
"And serious issues about poverty, Universal Credit and homelessness within our society."
The Labour leader then referenced the death of a homeless man - Gyula Remes - who was sleeping rough outside Parliament.
Mr Remes's death was reported on - alongside coverage of a 24% rise in homelessness-related deaths - by outlets including the BBC, the Mirror, the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, the Sun, the I, Metro, the Guardian, the Evening Standard, and the Financial Times.
But the Labour leader said: "It wasn't reported in most of our media.
"My anger will only subside when we've won an election to get a Labour government that will transform our society, that will make sure we are a society that cares for all."
It is not the first time Mr Corbyn has taken aim at press coverage.
Earlier this year he vowed to crack down on the "billionaire tax exiles" who own some of Britain's biggest newspapers after rejecting claims he met a Czech spy at the height of the Cold War.
Yesterday's harrowing homelessness figures show that some 597 homeless people died in England and Wales in 2017, an increase of 24% since 2013.
The Office for National Statistics found that over half of all the deaths last year were due to drug poisoning, liver disease or suicide.
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