LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn was openly criticised by his own shadow cabinet yesterday after he ruled out ever using nuclear weapons if he becomes Prime Minister.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Corbyn said his position on nuclear weapons was supported by the 60 per cent of Labour Party voters and supporters who backed him in the leadership contest.

He said: “There are five declared nuclear weapon states in the world. There are three others that have nuclear weapons. That is eight countries out of 192.”

When asked if he would use nuclear weapons, he said: “No. 187 countries don’t feel the need to have a nuclear weapon to protect their security, why should those five need it themselves? We are not in the era of the Cold War any more.”

He added: “I am opposed to the use of nuclear weapons, I am opposed to the holding of nuclear weapons. I want to see a nuclear-free world. I believe it is possible.”

Maria Eagle, the Shadow Defence Secretary, later told the BBC: “I think it undermines to some degree our attempt to try and get a policy process going. As far as I am concerned, we start from the policy we have. I don’t think that a potential Prime Minister answering a question like that in the way he did is helpful.”

Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham also suggested he would quit the shadow cabinet if the party did not back the replacement. There was also disquiet from Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn.

Labour MP John Woodcock, who supported Liz Kendall in the Labour leadership contest, said the “grotesque horror of a nuclear holocaust” was now more likely if Corbyn became PM.

Paul Kenny of the GMB then suggested Corbyn would have to resign as Labour’s leader if the party decided to back the programme: “Then he’s got a choice to make in terms of whether he followed the defence policy of the country, or felt that he should resign. His integrity would drive his decision one way or another.”

Responding to some of the criticism, Corbyn later told ITV News that he would “live with, somehow” the decision of the Labour Party, even if it did not support his position.

“If I can persuade the whole of the Labour Party to come round to my point of view, I would be very, very happy indeed,” he said.

There was support for Corbyn’s position from John Ainslie, of the Scottish CND. “The internal spat over Jeremy Corbyn’s refusal to press the nuclear button highlights the inherent immorality of Britain’s nuclear weapons,” he said.

“If we say Trident is a deterrent then it follows that we must be prepared to launch the missiles and cause untold devastation and destruction.

“Unfortunately, many Labour MPs and some powerful trade unions do not share Mr Corbyn’s moral high ground. They are mired in the bog and determined to keep their party stuck fast to the obscenity of weapons of mass destruction.“

Conservative Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “The Labour leader is effectively saying he would lower Britain’s defences.

“Deterrents don’t work if you’re not prepared to use them. Having nuclear weapons and our enemies knowing that we’re prepared to use them in the most extreme circumstances of self-defence is vital to keeping our country safe.”

The row overshadowed the final day of the Labour Party conference. Making the final speech of the event, deputy leader Tom Watson called on the party to unite behind Corbyn: “Jeremy wasn’t the pundits’ choice, after all. He was the people’s choice – the members whose party this really is.

“And let’s be clear: because he’s the people’s choice, he’s the right choice.”

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