- Wed Aug 17, 2016 10:09 pm
#472401
And here Mercer goes through a lot of guff about Owen's stance only to conclude he would given the right circumstances also talk to ISIS. Bad call from Smith who should have spotted a snare like that in the pantomime that is electoral politics. The fact that Smith's right and both the Tories and Corbyn agree with caveats is neither here nor there.
Tory MP Johnny Mercer, a former Army officer who served in Afghanistan, said: "Owen Smith's suggestion that we should get ISIS 'round the table' demonstrates his unfitness for leadership.
"Everyone knows negotiation is far more desirable than violence in any conflict, but to suggest it in this case, is to entirely misunderstand and fail to grasp the challenge posed by Daesh.
"His desperate attempts to out-Corbyn Jeremy Corbyn have led him to the view that barbaric murderers who behead journalists and lynch homosexuals are now the sort of people that we should negotiate with.
"It shows that whoever wins this increasingly bizarre leadership election, I’m afraid Labour just cannot be trusted with keeping us safe."
“I agree with you that (Isil are) not interested in peace talks - and that means there can't be any,” he told a Facebook user.
"There can be absolutely no negotiation with any terrorist group until they renounce violence, cease all acts of terror and commit themselves to a peaceful settlement.