Labour Insists It Still Supports Trident After Corbyn Interview

Labour has insisted it still supports the retention of Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent after Jeremy Corbyn appeared to throw it into doubt.

The Labour leader said he would order an immediate strategic defence review covering "all aspects" of defence policy if he won the general election on June 8.

In a statement issued following his appearance on BBC1's The Andrew Marr Show, a party spokesman said: "The decision to renew Trident has been taken and Labour supports that."

In the interview, Jeremy Corbyn refused to confirm that a commitment to continue to back the renewal of Britain’s nuclear deterrent, Trident, will be in the Labour manifesto.

Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr, Mr Corbyn said work on the manifesto hadn’t yet been completed.

In his first major broadcast interview since the General Election was announced, the Labour leader refused to say whether maintaining the deterrent would be in the party's manifesto. He added:

"We will have a strategic defence review immediately which will include all aspects of defence. We would then look at the situation at that time. We haven't completed work on the manifesto yet. We are having that discussion in the Labour Party and we will produce our manifesto early in May."

The Labour leader - a lifelong supporter of unilateral nuclear disarmament who has previously said he would never authorise the use of nuclear weapons also said he stood by his past views on the subject.