Corbyn: Manchester bomber 'does not represent Muslims'

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - The suicide bomber who killed at least 22 people in Manchester is no more representative of British Muslims than the far-right extremist who murdered a lawmaker last year, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn said on Friday.

As U.K. election campaigning resumed following Monday’s deadly bombing in Manchester, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn used a high-profile policy speech to also draw a link between British foreign policy and terror attacks.

Corbyn said there was a “smarter way to reduce the threat from countries that nurture terrorists and generate terrorism”.

Linking terror attacks with military interventions abroad, the Labour leader argued that experts “have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home".

Corbyn, as one of the staunchest opponents of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, criticized British involvement in Syria and suggested he would refuse a NATO request for more U.K. troops abroad if he becomes prime minister after June 8.

Referring to Monday night’s attack which saw a 22-year-old suicide bomber target a pop concert, Corbyn said the killer -- Salman Abedi -- who “unleashed carnage…targeting the young and many young girls in particular” no more represented Muslims than the murderer of Jo Cox spoke for anyone else.

Cox, a fellow lawmaker in Corbyn’s Labour Party, was shot and stabbed to death in broad daylight in June 2016 by a right-wing extremist.

-Police numbers

Corbyn also renewed a party pledge to increase police numbers which saw a fall under Conservative cuts in recent years.

Reports suggest Conservative policies have left the police force with around 20,000 less officers since 2010.

Corbyn went on to say the government’s role was “to ensure the police have the resources they need, that our foreign policy reduces rather than increases the threat to this country, and that at home we never surrender the freedoms we have won and that terrorists are so determined to take away".

Police on Friday said the total number of arrests linked to the Manchester suicide attack now stands at eight with one new arrest overnight.

A 16-year-old male and a woman who were previously detained were released without charge, police added.

Meanwhile, the U.K.’s threat level remains at ‘critical’. Armed police officers are present on commuter trains amid plans for increased security measures over the coming weekend.

London’s Metropolitan Police said they will deploy armed police at Saturday’s FA Cup Final match between Arsenal and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium.