Labour’s deputy leader says her party is clear that Vladimir Putin bears “absolute responsibility” for the bloodshed in Ukraine, after a number of MPs signed a statement heavily criticising Nato.
11 Labour MPs, including Gateshead’s Ian Mearns and Wansbeck’s Ian Lavery, had put their names to a statement issued by the Stop The War Coalition which said Nato “should call a halt to its eastward expansion” and accused the British Government of “aggressive posturing”.
All of the MPs subsequently withdrew their names on Thursday after being warned they risked losing the Labour whip.
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On a visit to Newcastle on Friday, Angela Rayner said that Russia’s invasion “has to be condemned in the highest and most robust way” and welcomed the MPs’ decision to back away from the statement, which is also signed by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Ms Rayner told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It is very clear what has happened. Putin is a tyrant and he has blood on his hands for what he has done, he is the aggressor.
“He has invaded Ukraine, taken their rights, and created bloodshed and murder on the streets of Ukraine.
“It has to be condemned in the highest and most robust way we possibly can and the Labour Party has been very clear on that.
“I welcome the fact that those 11 MPs have removed their names from that motion and they have recognised that some of the wording of that motion is unacceptable.
“We are very clear in the Labour Party that what Putin has done is utterly disgraceful and the international community condemns Putin in the strongest terms.”
A Labour spokesperson said on Thursday that, under Keir Starmer, there will “never be any confusion about whose side Labour is on – Britain, Nato, freedom and democracy – and every Labour MP now understands that”.
Speaking on a visit to the Newcastle United Foundation, ahead of the Labour North regional conference in the city this weekend, Ms Rayner praised the bravery of Russians protesting against the war and said Mr Putin “has to understand that there are serious consequences for what he has done and that the international community will not stand by idly”.
She added: “The bloodshed and the tyranny and the devastation we are seeing is absolutely at the hands of Putin, he has absolute responsibility for that and he will be judged by history and the international community as well.
“It is important that we support Ukranians, whether that is through refugee support, the military equipment we have given to the Ukrainian forces and the training we have done, through our allies and bolstering up the Nato alliance which is crucial at this moment, and through sanctions. We have to make sure that Russia is isolated in the international community and that they know that they will be penalised.”
