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Corbyn faces shadow cabinet revolt over Syria air strikes

Jeremy Corbyn has cancelled a visit to a by-election campaign in Oldham amid a shadow cabinet revolt over air strikes in Syria.

Mr Corbyn told Labour MPs that he cannot support the strikes, prompting a furious reaction and resignation threats from the shadow cabinet.

On Thursday, David Cameron urged the House of Commons to back military action against so-called Islamic State in Syria, saying the group posed a "serious and undeniable" threat to Britain.

But in a letter to his MPs, Mr Corbyn rejected Mr Cameron's claim that air strikes would make Britain safer.

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Diane Abbott: PM not made strong case for Syria airstrikes

Diane Abbott, the shadow international development secretary, has said that she does not believe that the prime minister has made a strong case for airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Syria.

She told ITV News that was not convinced that David Cameron had shown that military action in the war-torn country would make Britain safer.

The Labour MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington said it had been known for months that some Labour MPs supported airstrikes, but that the question was how the majority of MPs would vote when they saw the evidence.

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