‘There is no hiding place… our bombs will kill people’: Corbyn’s stark warning to Labour MPs backing ISIS airstrikes as anti-war protestors descend on Parliament ahead of crucial debate tomorrow

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2EF4690000000578-3340717-image-a-14_1448964223774Bangla sanglap desk: Jeremy Corbyn today warned Labour MPs there is ‘no hiding place’ if they ignore his pleas and back British airstrikes against ISIS in Syria.
The Labour leader warned pro-bombing MPs they will have to answer to party members if they ignore grassroots opposition to military action in tomorrow’s crunch vote and support action which will lead to civilian deaths.
In a sign of the tensions threatening to tear the party apart, shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn -who supports airstrikes – warned that ‘inaction has a cost in lives too’.
It also emerged that the number of Labour MPs willing to support military action could be cut from 100 to around 30-40 after a wave of pressure and intimidation encouraged by the leader’s supporters.
In an attempt to apply more pressure Stop the War supporters will march on Labour’s headquarters in London tonight after gathering in Parliament Square.
Mr Corbyn’s decision to grant a free vote was branded ‘deplorable’ by the Stop the War Coalition which he used to chair, who said it had ‘cleared the way’ for the Commons vote.
She said: ‘I am absolutely ashamed that the son of our former president Tony Benn is the person leading the drive to war.
‘I just hope our protests mean that fewer and fewer MPs will follow him’.
Shadow Treasury minister Richard Burgon refused to march on the Labour headquarters but said he wants to convince MPs it’s not too late to ‘think again on Syria’.
He added: ‘I’m no pacifist – I do believe ISIS must be defeated – but bombing Syria will kill innocent civilians’.
David Cameron, who has cancelled Prime Minister’s Questions to allow for more than 10 hours of debate, is set to secure the ‘clear majority’ he demanded after Mr Corbyn was pressured into abandoning plans to force all Labour MPs to vote against intervention.
2EF75C2000000578-3340717-image-a-9_1448994779197Up to 100 Labour MPs could support the government’s blueprint for action at 7pm tomorrow night, with RAF Tornado fighter jets and Typhoon Eurofighters expected to launch the first strikes within hours.
Mr Corbyn was humiliated by his own shadow cabinet yesterday, when frontbenchers lined up to insist they would vote in favour of bombing ISIS in its Syrian stronghold.
Aides to the beleaguered Labour leader, a former chairman of Stop The War, had pushed for Labour MPs to be whipped – or ordered – to oppose military action.
But he was outnumbered, with shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn and deputy leader Tom Watson among those pushing for bombing to begin.
Today Mr Corbyn told Mr Benn that his support for war would lead to the deaths of innocent people in Syria.
The Labour insisted a ‘large majority’ of Labour MPs would join him in opposing the military action, which he said reflected the view of the party membership who elected him in September.
Mr Corbyn told BBC Radio 2: ‘MPs tomorrow have got to make up their own minds. On the Labour side they’ve got a free vote, they have to make their own decision.
‘I’m being criticised for that by some people. Maybe people should think of it another way. I’m saying to every MP you make up your own mind, there’s no hiding place behind a whipping arrangement or not.’
We are going to kill people in their homes by our bombs
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
Challenge on why he could not even persuade his own shadow foreign secretary to oppose airstrikes, Mr Corbyn said: ‘[Mr Benn’s] belief is that we can get rid of ISIL by bombing them.
‘My reply to him and everybody that supports bombing – when you bomb a town like Raqqa, there are several hundred thousand people living there who may or may not wish to be under ISIL control.
‘Indeed many are trying to escape there. We are going to kill people. We are going to kill people in their homes by our bombs. I think we should be very careful about that.’
Shadow cabinet ministers told MailOnline how Labour MPs who disagree with the leader have been subject to ‘bullying and intimidation’ ahead of tomorrow’s vote.
A shadow cabinet source said today: ‘There is mounting evidence of a nasty campaign being pursued by a small, focussed bunch of individuals against Labour MPs using unconscionable tactics to try to intimidate them into changing their votes.
‘Unfortunately I suspect that it will have the effect that they intend to have.’
The source added that the ‘sheer level’ of pressure on MPs means the number supporting airstrikes could be cut to only 30 or 40.
The Stop the War group which Mr Corbyn used to chair has bombarded Labour MPs with 40,000 emails demanding they follow his lead.


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