Jeremy Corbyn to attend Stop the War event despite calls for him to pull out

Updated

A defiant Jeremy Corbyn has made clear he will go ahead with an appearance at a fundraising event for the Stop the War coalition, despite criticism over the group's outspoken attacks on some Labour MPs.

The Labour leader - who was the Stop the War's chair prior to his election as party leader in September - has been facing calls to pull out of the fundraising dinner for the group described by critics in the party as "really disreputable".

But a spokesman for Mr Corbyn made clear that he would ignore the demands, praising Stop the War's record in opposing British military intervention saying its protests were "at the heart of democracy".

"The anti-war movement has been a vital democratic campaign, which organised the biggest demonstrations in British history and has repeatedly called it right over 14 years of disastrous wars in the wider Middle East," the spokesman said.

"Jeremy Corbyn rejects any form of abuse in politics from any quarter. But he will not accept attempts to portray campaigning lobbying and protest as somehow beyond the pale. In fact it's at the heart of democracy."

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