Lord Prescott defends calls for foreign policy rethink as he warns of a backlash against military intervention

The former deputy prime minister John Prescott has defended Jeremy Corbyn's calls for a rethink of UK foreign policy as he suggested talk of greater military intervention in the Middle East could be to blame for recent terrorist attacks.

By The Newsroom Friday, 26th May 2017, 7:49 pm Updated Sunday, 4th June 2017, 9:30 pm

Lord Prescott campaigning in Yorkshire

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post during a campaign rally in Keighley, the Labour peer spoke of the West’s slow “creep” toward an agenda of regime change which he claims brings an increased risk of a backlash on British soil.

His comments followed a speech by Mr Corbyn, in which the Labour leader launched a fresh attack on British interventions in countries like Iraq and Libya and claimed that the war on terror has “failed” .

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The speech drew heavy criticism from both Labour and Conservative opponents, with Defence Secretary Michael Fallon dismissing it as “dangerous” and “muddled thinking”.

Lord Prescott’s tour of West Yorkshire constituencies coincided with the publication of the latest YouGov polls which revealed a narrowing in the Conservative lead over Labour.

Conducted in the wake of the Manchester bombing, the survey puts Labour up three points at 38 percent – 11 points higher than when the campaign began – while the Tories are down at 43.

Speaking to party activists, the former Hull MP welcomed the apparent boost in support, pointing to the party’s manifesto as the cause.

“When I first saw the leak of the manifesto I thought ‘this is fantastic but we won’t do it’. And then when it came out it was even better and it gave heart to our people,” he said.

His visit came just hours after Jeremy Corbyn gave an address in London to mark a return to campaigning in the wake of Monday’s attack. The Labour leader used his speech to outline an alternative approach to foreign policy that “reduces rather than increases the threat to this country”.

“Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries, such as Libya, and terrorism here at home,” he said.

“We must be brave enough to admit the war on terror is simply not working. [Troops] will only be deployed abroad when there is a clear need and only when there is a plan that delivers lasting peace.”

The speech was criticised by the former Labour Home Secretary Charles Clarke, who described the remarks as “simply wrong”. Yesterday the Tory Defence Secretary Michael Fallon accused Mr Corbyn of “very muddled and dangerous thinking”.

However, when asked whether he agreed with his leader, Lord Prescott expressed similar concerns about recent military interventions and their consequences for domestic security. Reflecting on the Iraq war, he suggested the “idea of regime change” has increasingly “crept in” to Western foreign policy, pointing to intervention in Libya as the most recent example.

“What we need to do is find a framework... for what we use military intervention for," he said.

"If it’s simply regime change because you don’t like it, as happened with Saddam... some [people] feel encouraged to lash out, even when they’re British subjects. We must understand that and do something about it.”