Corbyn Defies Stop The War Dinner Appeal

Jeremy Corbyn will defy an appeal for him to miss a Stop The War coalition fund-raising dinner after its "nasty" attacks on the shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn.

The group, which Mr Corbyn helped to found, has called for Mr Benn to be sacked for his support of airstrikes in Syria.

Former shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said the Stop The War coalition was a "disreputable organisation" and appealed to his party's leader not to attend Friday's event.

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But Mr Corbyn, who was chairman of the organisation until September, has made clear his intention to attend the £50-a-head fund-raiser.

Mr Hunt said: "The Stop The War coalition picketed the Labour Party headquarters when we were trying to run a phone-bank for the Oldham by-election so they were preventing the election of a Labour Member of Parliament.

"We have also seen some pretty ugly comments from them about Hilary Benn and the fact that Hilary Benn should be sacked. Also their comments about Islamic State, their comments about how the French almost had it coming to them.”

He told BBC’s Andrew Marr Programme: "They are a really disreputable organisation."

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Mr Benn gave a commanding speech in the House of Commons last week in support of airstrikes, which won plaudits from both sides of the House.

However, he and the 65 other Labour MPs who supported military action have been subjected to threats and abuse on social media - and threatened with de-selection by Corbyn supporters.

The vote laid bare the deepening rift at the heart of Labour.

Mr Corbyn is expected to reshuffle his shadow cabinet in January after a third of them defied him to vote for strikes.

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Women look likely to bear the brunt of the changes with shadow defence secretary Maria Eagle, shadow business secretary Angela Eagle and shadow education secretary Lucy Powell all thought to be in danger.

A Stop The War statement said: "Tristram Hunt's attack is unfounded and unjustified. We did not picket Labour Party offices, we have unequivocally condemned the terrible massacre in Paris, and we do not take a view on who should hold which office in the Labour Party.

"We do note, however, that unlike Mr Hunt we take the same view of the Syrian War as the leader of the Labour Party and the great majority of Labour MPs and members. We look forward to celebrating that fact with Jeremy this week."