Boris’s last appearance on the airwaves during the election campaign left many scratching their heads. Just what did the word ‘mugwump’ actually mean? This time, the Foreign Secretary’s attack against Jeremy Corbyn was much more straightforward: the Labour leader’s opposition to the ‘shoot to kill’ policy. Here, Corbyn has undoubtedly changed his tune: in 2015, he said he wasn’t happy with the idea; and last year, he said that he hadn’t changed his mind. In the wake of the London attack though, Corbyn backed officers being able to use lethal force in certain situations. This wishy-washy position is dangerous ground for Labour, and the Tories are doing their best to talk it up by referring to Corbyn’s confusing statements on the subject at every possible opportunity. A clip of Corbyn’s BBC interview in which he said ‘I am not happy with the shoot to kill policy in general’, is going viral – no doubt helped by the Tories’ eagerness to push the clip online. And if you Google ‘Jeremy Corbyn shoot to kill’, what pops up? An advert for the Conservatives:
This is no accident; nor was Boris’s focus on this topic during his Today interview.
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