STEWART PATERSON

Political Correspondent

Labour would put more police on the streets and bolster resources to track suspects to respond to the terror threat Jeremy Corbyn said.

As the election campaign resumed following the Manchester attack. the Labour leader used his speech to state how a government led by him would tackle terrorism.

He said the Tories has cut the policing and security budget and said foreign intervention in the middle-east has increased the terror threat.

He said Labour would only deploy troops abroad when there is a clear need and with a plan to deliver lasting peace.

He said: “We must be brave enough to say the war on terror is simply not working. We need a smarter way to reduce the threat from countries that nurture terrorists and generate terrorism.”

Mr Corbyn said there was no justification for the acts of terrorism like in Manchester and his government would be “strong against terrorism and strong against the causes of terrorism”.

HE said it was not only foreign policy which increased the risk of terrorism.

He added: “Over the past 15 years or so, a sub-culture of often suicidal violence has developed amongst a tiny minority of, mainly young, men, falsely drawing authority from Islamic beliefs and often nurtured in a prison system in urgent need of resources and reform.

“And no rationale based on the actions of any government can remotely excuse, or even adequately explain, outrages like this week’s massacre.”

The Labour leader has been criticised for his views on Britain’s foreign policy and had his patriotism questioned.

He said the debate and arguments about must be conducted without “impugning anyone’s patriotism and without diluting the unity in which we stand against terror”.

Mr Corbyn pre-empted any criticism of the timing of his speech so soon after the attack which let 22 people, many children dead.

He said: “We cannot carry on as through nothing happened in Manchester this week.”

Scottish Tory leader, Ruth Davidson, responded to Mr Corbyn’ speech.

She said: “Do you know who is to blame for that bombing? The bomber, that’s who’s to blame.

“He targeted innocent young girls, it was abhorrent.”

“We’ve seen it in America in the Twin Towers attack, we’ve seen it in Sweden and Belgium who haven’t take the same foreign policies decisions as us.

“We’ve seen it in France, who have sometimes taken the direct opposite foreign policy decisions to us.”

“In terms of Jeremy Corbyn and his wider foreign policy point, I think there an awful lot of people out there who don’t share Jeremy Corbyn’s view of the world.”