British PM May: Corbyn sat with Hamas, Hezbollah and IRA without preconditions, but not with me

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday slammed opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn for his refusal to meet with her over Brexit, asking the Labour party chairman why he met with members of Hamas, Hezbollah and the Irish Republican Army, but not with her.

"He has been willing to sit down with Hamas, Hezbollah and the IRA without preconditions but he will not meet with me to talk about Brexit," May charged during Prime Minister's Question Time in the House of Commons.

In response, Corbyn said he offered to meet with the British prime minister last fall, before quoting a line previously used by Hilary Benn MP: "While the door to her office may well be open, minds inside are completely closed."

The exchange came after the House of Commons rejected May's withdrawal deal last week, leaving Britain on course to exit the EU on March 29 with no deal.

She has promised to try once again to amend the agreement, but critics say she will not succeed - and that parliament must now take control. May has promised a debate and votes on the way forward on January 29.

Her criticism of Corbyn referred to a series of meetings and events attended by the opposition leader:

Corbyn reportedly sat on a panel at a 2012 conference in Doha with several Palestinian terrorists sentenced for murder and shared the platform with then Hamas head Khaled Mashaal.

While a backbench MP, Corbyn invited "our friends" from Hamas and Hezbollah to speak at an event in Parliament.


https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1088048786272747520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1088048786272747520&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Fmay-corbyn-sat-with-hamas-hezbollah-without-preconditions-but-not-me%2F