‘Corbyn WILL meet Hamas, he WON’T meet Chuka Umunna’: Rachel Riley leads mocking of Labour leader as he storms out of PM’s Brexit briefing for party leaders because TIG chief was invited
- Jeremy Corbyn walked out on a crucial Brexit briefing with party leaders
- Labour leader is thought to have left the meeting as Chuka Umunna was there
- Corbyn reportedly said the Independent Group MP was ‘not a real party leader’
- The move has been criticised online, with many outraged by Corbyn’s actions
Jeremy Corbyn walked out on a crucial Brexit briefing with party leaders because former Labour MP Chuka Umunna was invited.
The Labour Leader is thought to have refused to sit down with the Independent Group spokesman as ‘he’s not a real party leader’.
Mr Corbyn was labelled ‘juvenile’ after refusing to join the cross-party meeting and has been slammed online for his behaviour.
Leading the criticism, Countdown presenter Rachel Riley mocked Mr Corbyn for meeting with Hamas – the military wing of which is a banned terrorist group in the UK – but failing to talk with Mr Umunna.
Jeremy Corbyn (pictured leaving Downing Street tonight) walked out on a crucial Brexit briefing with party leaders because former Labour MP Chuka Umunna (left) was invited
She wrote on Twitter: ‘Corbyn on Hamas (the terrorists): I wanted Hamas to be part of the debate.
‘Corbyn on Chuka Umunna (the anti-racism ex-Labour MP): Tell him I’m not talking to him. OK, got it.’
Mr Umunna, who is not officially the leader of the newly formed Independent Group but instead an appointed ‘spokesman’, described Jeremy Corbyn’s refusal to engage in talks as ‘extraordinary’ and ‘very juvenile’.
Leading the criticism, Countdown presenter Rachel Riley (pictured) mocked Mr Corbyn for his actions
She wrote on Twitter: ‘Corbyn on Hamas (the terrorists): I wanted Hamas to be part of the debate. Corbyn on Chuka Umunna (the anti-racism ex-Labour MP): Tell him I’m not talking to him’
He said: ‘We are in a crisis situation here where the people of this country expect their representatives from different political groupings in Parliament to come together and actually chart a way forward.
‘That is why the Prime Minister convened the meeting, I welcomed the fact that she did so.
‘I think it is really extraordinary behaviour for the leader of the opposition to behave in really this kind of very juvenile way when the moment demands that we all step up and engage in some serious dialogue to find a way through this chaos and this mess.
‘He will have to explain his actions.’
Speaking after the meeting, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said: ‘That is rather a strange way to behave in a national crisis.’
SNP MP Stewart McDonald told Mr Corbyn to ‘get a grip’ after his refusal to engage in talks with the Independent Group.
He tweeted: ‘I mean honestly, nine days until the country he wants to be Prime Minister of leaves the EU and @jeremycorbyn has gone full ‘you can’t sit with us’.
‘This isn’t Mean Girls. Get a grip of your life, man!’
A Labour spokesperson said: ‘It was not the meeting that had been agreed and the terms were broken. Downing Street is in such chaos that they were unable to manage their own proposed meeting.
‘We are in discussions with Number 10 about holding the bilateral meeting with the PM that Jeremy proposed at PMQs.’