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Labour leadership hopeful Owen Smith has come under fire after suggesting Isis leaders should be brought into peace talks.

Mr Smith claimed "all of the actors" would need to be involved to put an end to Syria’s bloody civil war during today’s leadership debate on BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show,

When asked if the terror group should be involved in negotiations, Jeremy Corbyn’s rival replied: “Ultimately all solutions to these sorts of international crises do come about through dialogue so eventually, if we are to try and solve this, all of the actors do need to be involved.

"But at the moment (Isis) are clearly not interested in negotiating."

However, Labour leader Mr Corbyn said: “They are not going to be round the table.”

Mr Smith’s comments sparked an outcry with some claiming they highlighted the candidate’s “unfitness for leadership”.

Former Army officer Johnny Mercer, a Conservative member of the Commons Defence Committee, said: “(Mr Smith’s) desperate attempts to out-Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn have led him to the view that barbaric murderers who behead journalists and lynch homosexuals are now the sort of people that we should negotiate with."

A spokesman for Jeremy Corbyn branded the remarks "hasty and ill-considered".

A spokesman for Mr Smith later said he believed there could be no negotiation with Isis unless they "renounce violence, cease all acts of terror and commit themselves to a peaceful settlement".