AFP/PA Jeremy Corbyn today praised 'heroic' Fidel Castro

FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again. SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up fornow and never miss the top politics stories again. We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

The gaffe-prone Labour leader embarked on an extraordinary and misty eyed eulogy to the mass murdering despot, whose death was greeted with joy and relief by many Cubans. In a scarcely believable interview the ultra left-winger described Castro - who used firing squads and a brutal secret police force to crack down on free speech and human rights - as a “champion of social justice”. And he grinned as he praised the dictator, who ruled through fear of his military, for “seeing off” nine US Presidents - a feat he achieved by never holding any elections.

Critics immediately compared Mr Corbyn’s simpering praise for the brutal butcher, who took the world to the brink of nuclear apocalypse at the height of the Cold War, to his campaign to get Tony Blair jailed for war crimes. The disgraceful episode will hammer yet another nail in the electoral chances of both the Islington MP and the Labour party as a whole, and will alarm MPs facing a struggle to keep hold of their seats. His remarks were immediately slammed by Labour MPs and commentators, who said they showed an astonishing lack of appreciation for the atrocities carried out by the Communist maniac.

AFP Fidel Castro rubs shoulders with fellow dictator Robert Mugabe

GETTY Cubans in the US have celebrated the death of the butchering despot

The row comes after the Labour leader controversially praised terrorists from the IRA, described the Islamist group Hamas as “friends” and refused to sing the National Anthem at a Battle of Britain commemoration. Speaking during a visit to Oxford today, Mr Corbyn said: ”I think history will show that Castro was such a key figure, it seems he has been with us forever. "There are stories of his heroism while living in Mexico in exile and then the boat to Cuba, the march to Havana and the revolution in 1959. "History will show that Fidel was somebody who stood up for something very, very different in the Caribbean and many independent people would say how good health care and education are in Cuba compared to many other places in the world." He added: “For all his flaws, Castro’s support for Angola played a crucial role in bringing an end to Apartheid in South Africa, and he will be remembered both as an internationalist and a champion of social justice.”

WATCH Corbyn Defends Castro: "There Are Problems of Excesses By All Regimes" https://t.co/0tmUjNT2Cn pic.twitter.com/D2EzalkaOi — Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) November 26, 2016

He will be remembered both as an internationalist and a champion of social justice Jeremy Corbyn

When questioned about the catastrophic human rights abuses committed by Castro over three decades in power, the Labour leader’s staggering reply was that the Communist leader’s regime had to be looked at “in its totality”. He added that there were “problems of excesses by all regimes” around the world, insisting that he had “never shied away from raising human rights concerns in any country in the world in any circumstances and I never will”. But Mr Corbyn’s remarks sparked consternation and condemnation from within Labour’s own ranks. The moderate MP Ian Austin blasted: “It's true Fidel Castro outlasted 10 US presidents, but unlike them he didn't have to stand for election. And he could imprison his opponents." And fellow Labour MP Mike Gapes, a former chairman of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, highlighted a Human Rights Watch report that illustrated "much worse than just some 'problems and excesses' in Cuba". Former front bencher Chuka Umunna added: “Interesting reading the Castro obituaries. In the end, I'm a democrat and find it hard to see past the fact he was a dictator.”

Fidel Castro: 1926 - 2016 Thu, December 1, 2016 After surviving more than 600 assassination attempts, defying 10 US Presidents and shaping half a century of history, Fidel Castro died aged 90, on 25th November 2016. Play slideshow REUTERS 1 of 28 File photo of Cuba's President Fidel Castro during a visit to Paris