Jeremy Corbyn has defended his past appearances on Press TV, the Iranian state broadcaster's English language channel, despite concerns from his supporters over that country's treatment of LGBT people.

The Labour leader said people were "free to make the criticism they wish" but insisted he had been able to "raise a number of human rights issues" on the channel.

Corbyn was paid up to £20,000 in total for several appearances on Press TV between 2009 and 2012, according to analysis of his register of interests by Business Insider. In 2011 three Iranian men were executed for homosexuality.

In an interview with LGBT website PinkNews on Wednesday, Corbyn was told that "lots of people" had submitted questions asking him why he had accepted money from the state-funded network given Iran's treatment of gay people.



"I did some programmes for Press TV quite a long time ago," he said. "I refused to do any more because there was a change in the process they were operating...

"I presented other programmes in which I was able to raise a number of human rights issues, not just in Iran but other countries as well – and the money I was paid, which wasn't an enormous amount actually, went on my constituency office."