Jeremy Corbyn insists ‘I’m not going anywhere’ and says he has final say on Labour vote over Syria air strikes

‘We will come to a decision as a party,’ the Labour leader tells The Andrew Marr Show

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn on The Andrew Marr Show (BBC)

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has refused to say whether he will give a free vote to Labour MPs over the proposed bombing campaign in Syria - but insisted he holds the final decision.

Mr Corbyn told The Andrew Marr show he was “not going anywhere” amid claims his stance on the issue could cause a damaging split in the party.

The Labour leader has faced a backlash over his opposition to extending RAF raids into Syria, with his deputy, Tom Watson, admitting that the “best way of holding the party together” would be to allow Labour MPs to have a free vote on the matter.

But Mr Corbyn would not be drawn on his final decision. Asked whether Labour MPs - around half of whom are thought to support action - would be given a free vote, Mr Corbyn said: "No decision has been made on that yet, I am going to find out what MPs think.

"Obviously there are strong views on both directions. We will have a further discussion on this. We will make that decision not at this moment but later on."

Mr Corbyn said the decision would be made “as a party,” referencing the more than 70,000 responses he had received from Labour party members to a survey designed to canvas their opinions last Friday.

"Labour MPs need to listen to that [membership] voice, they need to try and understand where people are coming from on this," he said.

Pressed on whether he could support bombing Syria under any circumstances, Mr Corbyn said: "I don't think it will solve the problem that is there.

"There also has to be a recognition that if we bomb in Raqqa we are going to take out civilian lives, we may not in effect do very much damage to Isis and actually may make the situation worse not better.

"The experience of Libya where there was no follow-up plan shows these things can be very dangerous."

He drew attention to a piece in the Observer quoting people who live in Raqqa, where the bombing campaign would be carried out, who say the action would result in large numbers of civilian casualties, whether the bombing is carefully targeted or not.

“There is no second plan, there is no effective ground force to back it up, the Government has already ruled that out and we’re going to be relying on groups in the Free Syrian Army apparently who are hundreds of miles away whose main interest is fighting Assad anyway," he said.

“And also think through two years ago, the Government who is now asking us to link up with lots of forces in Syria to oppose Isis actually asked us to join a coalition two years ago to fight Assad – we seem to be changing sides."

Marr suggested Mr Corbyn was, in his heart, “on the streets with the Stop The War” organisation, which he was chairman of before becoming Labour leader.

He replied “there is nothing wrong with my heart except wanting a peaceful world.”

When Mr Marr said he expected the Labour leader’s heart was “on the left,” Mr Corbyn replied: “It’s a socialist heart as well”.

Asked if there was any chance divisions in the party could force his resignation, Mr Corbyn said: "I'm not going anywhere. I am enjoying every moment of it."

Additional reporting by PA