Mr Corbyn is kicking off the Labour conference in Brighton this morning
Jeremy Corbyn hinted at backing for illegal strikes today – as he berated the government for not bowing to union demands for a 5 per cent pay hike for public sector workers.
The Labour leader repeatedly refused to criticise threats from his union allies to step outside the law with industrial.
And asked whether he would join picket lines if strikes were called without ballot thresholds being met, he said: said: ‘I will be supporting those workers in getting a decent pay rise.’
But Mr Corbyn was almost immediately contradicted by deputy Tom Watson, who said: ‘We don’t support people breaking the law. We don’t want people to break the law, we are democrats.
‘We are going to change the law so that trade unionists can have greater rights because we think our current framework of laws is very unfair.’
In an interview to kick off the Labour conference in Brighton this morning, Mr Corbyn flannelled desperately on a range of topics.
At one point a frustrated Andrew Marr asked the veteran left-winger: ‘What’s happened to you that you cannot answer my questions?’
Len McCluskey, one of Mr Corbyn’s closest allies, reiterated that he was ready to take strikes over public sector pay even if the legal threshold of a 50 per cent turnout is not reached.
Speaking on ITV’s Peston programme, Mr McCluskey urged Theresa May not to push workers ‘outside the law’.
On the BBC, Mr Corbyn refused to criticise the prospect of illegal strikes.
He berated ministers for not bowing to demands for a big pay rise for public sector workers, but would not say whether he supported the across-the-board 5 per cent hikes being called for by unions.
Such inflation-busting rises would be around double the average rise in the private sector, and cost the public purse around £10billion a year.
The government has already announced it is easing the 1 per cent cap on public sector pay rises, but says any increases must be balanced against the need to tackle the still-significant deficit.
During his interview, Mr Corbyn refused to rule out keeping free movement after Brexit.
He also said it was ‘impossible’ to put a timescale on how long the status quo should be maintained before ties are finally cut.
Mr Corbyn said he agreed with the government that a transition deal was needed after March 2019 for the UK to adjust to life outside the EU.
Mr Corbyn said he ‘understood’ where those in his party supporting free movement were coming from
Unite chief Len McCluskey today reiterated his threat to call illegal strikes if necessary, and urged the government not to force workers outside the law
But pressed on whether he thought the two-year timescale set out by Theresa May was right, he merely said: ‘It is impossible for anyone to put an absolute timescale on that.’
The comments will alarm Brexiteers who are already concerned that the outcome of the historic referendum last year is being subverted.
Repeatedly grilled on whether free movement should stay after we leave the EU, Mr Corbyn again dodged. Labour is deeply divided on the issue, with many MPs calling for Britain to stay in the EU and avoid any tougher restrictions on flows.
Mr Corbyn said he ‘understood’ where those in his party supporting free movement were coming from.
‘A lot of people are going to come and work here,’ he said.
The Labour leader desperately dodged when pressed on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show today over whether loose immigration rules should be maintained after we formally leave the EU