Corbyn 'disappointed' Labour MPs 'decided to misinterpret' his stance on Russia

By Kris Jepson

Jeremy Corbyn MP has told ITV News Tyne Tees he is "disappointed" some Labour MPs have "decided to misinterpret" his stance on Russia, following the nerve agent attack on a former spy and his daughter in Salisbury, which he set out in a Guardian article on Thursday.

Speaking at Labour's Northern Conference in Newcastle, the opposition leader declared the row "is not dividing the party".

Watch @krisjepson's report here:

Addressing the conference, Mr Corbyn told delegates "the use of military nerve agents on the streets of Britain is barbaric and beyond reckless.

"Either this was crime authored by the Russian state or that state has allowed these deadly toxins to step out of control".

Those two possibilities Mr Corbyn outlined in the article, and again at today's conference, have led to criticism from some of his own MPs, who want him to be clearer in his condemnation for Russia.

Some 33 Labour MPs, this week, lodged an early day motion, which “unequivocally” accepts Russia’s “culpability” for the attack.

North East Labour politicians who signed the Commons motion include Mary Glindon MP (North Tyneside), Catherine McKinnell MP (Newcastle upon Tyne North), Phil Wilson MP (Sedgefield) and Anna Turley MP (Redcar).

Anna Turley also wrote an article in the Guardian on Thursday, setting out why she decided to sign the Commons motion.

Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald told ITV News there is no division within the Labour party.