Boris Johnson news: PM admits 74 convicted terrorists released early and falsely claims his Queens speech was blocked by parliament

Boris Johnson denies Tory cuts played role in London Bridge terror attack

Boris Johnson has appeared on a combative edition of the BBC's Andrew Marr Show - following a pledge by the broadcaster to refuse the prime minister a platform unless he agreed to an on-air grilling with Andrew Neil.

His on-air appearance comes after a BMG Research poll reveal the Conservative party's lead has been more than halved since the election was called.

Meanwhile Jeremy Corbyn has accused Boris Johnson of being “the world’s leading sycophant” towards Donald Trump as the Labour leader outlines his approach to foreign policy if elected.

Key Points

• Corbyn: 'The war on terror has manifestly failed'
• Watch Jeremy Corbyn's response to questions on how to handle detained terrorists in the UK
• Labour's David Lammy has accused the prime minister of "bare-face lies" during his Marr interview​
• Boris Johnson confirms 74 terror convicts released early

[1 December 2019 08:13 · Vincent Wood]

Welcome to the Independent politics live blog - today we will b e following the prime minister's interview with Andrew Marr as the debate around early release from prison continues following Friday's attack on London Bridge by convicted terrorist Usman Khan.

[1 December 2019 08:37 · Vincent Wood]

Corbyn and Raab on Ridge, Johnson on Marr

The first of the Sunday shows will see Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, the Liberal Democrats economic spokesman Sir Ed Davey and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab appear on Sophy Ridge's Sky show.

Following up will be the prime minister on the BBC's Andrew Marr show - a move by the broadcaster that has caused anger among the Labour party.

[1 December 2019 08:57 · Vincent Wood]

Here's Jeremy Corbyn's full response to questions on how to handle detained terrorists in the UK - with the Labour leader arguing that terrorists should be released early if they have been rehabilitated during their prison stay:

[1 December 2019 09:05 · Vincent Wood]

Corbyn says terrorists can be released early if they have been 'rehabilitated'

Jeremy Corbyn says terrorists can be released early from prison if they have been “rehabilitated”, as he linked the London Bridge attack to big government funding cuts.

Asked if anyone convicted of terror offences should service their full sentence – as Boris Johnson has now pledged – the Labour leader said: “Not necessarily, no.”

More below from The Independent's Rob Merrick:

[1 December 2019 09:07 · Vincent Wood]

Corbyn would vote in second Brexit referendum

Jeremy Corbyn has said he would vote in a second Brexit referendum - but has refused to outline what side he would support.

Asked if it was really showing leadership to remain neutral on thew UK's relationship with the EU, he said: "Yes - because this country has got to come together

"We can't keep negotiating and debating how people voted in 2016".

Asked how he would vote after negotiating a new deal with the EU, he said: "you'll have to wait and see".

[1 December 2019 09:16 · Vincent Wood]

Conservatives on the attack over Corbyn terror stance

Conservative party officials have taken to Twitter to attack Jeremy Corbyn over his stance on rehabilitating those convicted of terror.

Security minister Brandon Lewis wrote "words fail me on this" regarding the Labour leader's comment that terrorists should "not necessarily" serve their full prison sentence - while others saw fit to simply tweet out Mr Corbyn's comments as they stood.

The matter will likely be recalled throughout the next two weeks - particularly after Boris Johnson came out strongly in favour of stricter sentencing following Friday's attack.

[1 December 2019 09:21 · Vincent Wood]

Corbyn - "I wished our party had acted on antisemitism more rapidly"

Jeremy Corbyn has said he poses no threat to the Jewish community in the UK - and that he regrets the party not acting on antisemitism faster.

Asked if he thought he had done anything wrong when it came to his handling of the issue, he said:

I wished our party had acted on it more rapidly at the very beginning and dealt with it at that point and also I want to make it very clear to the Jewish community, to the Muslim community and to any other community, anyone under threat because of persecution, because of attacks on their temples, mosques, synagogues or places of worship will be very secure under a Labour government.

We will make sure there is full funding of all the protection measures they need and full respect for their religion, their faith and their place in our society.

Jewish people suffered like no other in the 20th century through anti-Semitism in Germany which led to the horrors of the Holocaust and Jewish people have made an incredible contribution to my party, to our trade unions, to our life and intellectual life in this country.

I value that and I thank them for everything that they do, I want all communities to be safe.

[1 December 2019 09:22 · Vincent Wood]

Lib Dem deputy - 'I've been alarmed by PM's response to terror'

Sir Ed Davey, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats, has accused Boris Johnson of politicising Friday’s terror attack.

Speaking on Ridge on Sunday on Sky News, he said: "I've been a bit alarmed though about how the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has responded. He seems to be politicising this at a time when we really should be thinking about the families.

"But, worse still, he's misleading people about what the current law is. He's trying to say that there is early release now, but actually that was got rid of in 2012."

Sir Ed added: "I'm afraid the Prime Minister was misleading people again on television last night, he said ... the current law is that people get early release after 50% of the term - that's not true.

"Either he's incompetent and doesn't know the law, or he's deliberately misleading people when we've got a tragedy on our hands, and I'm afraid, either way, it does not look good for the Prime Minister and he should be apologising.

"In the middle of an election, we shouldn't be making political capital out of a tragedy, and he's doing that, and he's doing that in a way which is misleading people about what the law actually says."

[1 December 2019 09:34 · Vincent Wood]

Dominic Raab 'not really' concerned about losing his seat

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said he is not worried about his seat as poll numbers put the Liberal Democrats within touching distance of tipping the constituency.

Asked if he was concerned that he could lose Esher and Walton in his own Portillo moment he said "not really" 

"The truth is with a seat like mine you never take anything for granted - and the polls are fluid all over the place - but the one thing it does show you in my constituency and up and down the country is the risk of a hung parliament".

A recent Deltapoll survey found Mr Raab's lead has declined by 13 points in his constituency - with his Lib Dem rival on 41 per cent compared to his lead of 46 per cent.

[1 December 2019 09:45 · Vincent Wood]

Chuka Umunna chimes in with Davey on playing politics with terror

Liberal Democrat candidate Chuka Umunna has criticised Labour and the Tories for "seeking to use a terrorist incident as a political football" amid the General Election campaign.

The party's foreign affairs spokesman told BBC One's Andrew Marr Show: "Clearly the system needs to be looked at, but the facts are this.

"The assailant, the person who committed the acts here, was jailed under a regime inherited by the coalition government from a Labour government and then he was released early under a Conservative government.

"So, this happened under governments of different political persuasions."

His comment chimes with that of the deputy leader sir Ed Davey earlier, who said he was 'alarmed' by the PM's response to the incident.