After Hilary Benn gave a passionate speech in favour of airstrikes, many on the left praised him for his words even if they did not agree with the sentiment. Alas Alex Salmond took a different approach and instead claimed Benn had shamed his late father Tony Benn who would be ‘birling in his grave’ after his son’s pro-war speech.
While Salmond’s comments were widely condemned by members of Labour — including Tony Benn’s own granddaughter Emily, the party may need to address a similar personal attack on Benn which is closer to home. Jeremy Corbyn’s brother Piers has taken to Twitter to criticise Hilary, claiming that he is a ‘disgrace’ to his socialist father:
WELL DONE #JohnMcDonnell and #JeremyCorbyn and SHAME on #HilaryBenn – a disgrace to his father #TonyBenn #Corbyn https://t.co/bgvWoZRnpc
— Piers Corbyn (@Piers_Corbyn) December 3, 2015
Perhaps Piers should refrain from preaching about the importance of family values. After all, this is the same Piers Corbyn who appeared on last night’s This Week to declare that there is no such thing as man-made climate change — a view in stark contrast to his eco-brother’s stance on green issues:
"Why haven't you managed to convince your brother" – @afneil
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