June 3, 2017 2.06 pm This story is over 81 months old

Jeremy Corbyn in Lincoln: RAF Waddington has ‘huge role’ in fight against Islamic State

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that RAF Waddington and other RAF stations have “a huge role to play” in the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Corbyn was joined by Labour’s Lincoln MP candidate Karen Lee at Age UK in the city centre on Saturday, June 3, with the pair speaking to…
Jeremy Corbyn with Karen Lee (right) and a Labour Party voter outside Age UK in Lincoln. Photo: Daniel Ionescu for The Lincolnite

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that RAF Waddington and other RAF stations have “a huge role to play” in the fight against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Corbyn was joined by Labour’s Lincoln MP candidate Karen Lee at Age UK in the city centre on Saturday, June 3, with the pair speaking to a group of pensioners at the event.

Asked whether he would authorise drone strikes against Islamic State piloted from RAF Waddington, he said: “We’ll obviously look at the strategy of what’s happening in Syria.

“I want to see a reconvening of the Syrian peace conference and obviously RAF Waddington and RAF other places have a huge role to play in that, both in what they’re doing at the moment, but it’s also really important in surveillance.

“But it’s really important in dealing with ISIS, I also want to cut off their funding supplies and cut off their opportunities for selling oil because their arms don’t come from nowhere, their money doesn’t come from nowhere.”

Journalists also quizzed the Labour leader on the prospect of a medical school for the city and fairer funding for Lincolnshire Police.

On the latter point, he added: “I want to see all our police service directly employed by the police.

“I think having private contractors in the police service is never a good idea.”