Labour front-bencher Kate Osamor has been presented by certain political sites as making a series of statements contradicting party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Syria and suggesting that he refrain from commenting on foreign affairs.
Ms Osamor appears to be mortified by the way the interview has been represented and has issued the following statement via a tweet:
The quotes picked up in tonight’s media have been used selectively from a long and wide-ranging interview, and simply don‘t represent my views. I agreed to the interview on the basis that it was to talk only about next week’s Commonwealth Summit. But none of that excuses that I should have been clearer and more careful in the language I used.
I am not advocating military intervention , and certainly do not believe there is any simple solution in Syria to lasting peace. That is why we need an urgent international drive through the United Nations to achieve a ceasefire, a negotiated political settlement and the right of the Syrian people to determine their own future . The suffering of hundreds of thousands of civilians must come to an end. I fully accept the conclusions of previous UN and OPCW investigations , and should have been clearer on that.
It is not Labour Party policy to support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BOS), and I fully support Labour’s commitment to a comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on a two-state solution – a secure Israel alongside a secure and viable state of Palestine .
As leader of our party, it is absolutely right that Jeremy both speaks and leads on foreign policy issues, and I did not say that he shouldn’t. My point was that whenever he does, the mainstream media misrepresent and attack him, time and again. No-one has been more supportive of Jeremy‘s leadership than myself . That will always be the case.
Ms Osamor’s standing with the leadership team rightly appears to be undiminished, but perhaps she has gained valuable experience about which journalists and outlets to trust with interviews.
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“It is not Labour Party policy to support Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BOS)” sic
But it should be, it’s the ONLY way to pressurise the Israeli Government into getting rid of apartheid.
This is one enormity that cannot be blamed on the media. Ms Osamor’s words were quite clear. I happen to agree with her on BDS, and that assertion does little harm. But she quite clearly called for intervention in Syria and the removal of Al Assad. I.e. regime change, disastrous and illegal. Such monumental ignorance indicates a return to the back benches until such time as she learns how politics and international relations works.