JEZ OUSTANDING
Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams backs Jeremy Corbyn to be Prime Minister
The outgoing President heaped praise on the Labour boss for talking to Irish Republicans during The Troubles - even as they committed violent atrocities
GERRY Adams has thrown his weight behind "outstanding" Jeremy Corbyn to be prime minister - because it would benefit Britain.
The outgoing President heaped praise on the Labour boss for talking to Irish Republicans during The Troubles - even as they committed violent atrocities.
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And he insisted that suspended ex-London Mayor Ken Livingstone had also done a good job by encouraging both sides to talk to each other.
Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr Show Mr Adams said: "I would like to see Jeremy in that position for the benefit of Britain, leaving Ireland out of it.
"I think Jeremy is an outstanding politician... he and Ken Livingstone and others kept faith and they were the people who said, when others said no, talk."
More than 3,600 people were killed and thousands more were injured in the Northern Ireland conflict - around 1,800 of those were said to be from the IRA.
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Mr Corbyn has come under fire for repeatedly refusing to unequivocally condemn the violent IRA group.
He met with the Sinn Fein leader in Westminster during the 1990s too - but Mr Adams has always denied he was a part of the IRA.
The former MP, who now sits in the Republic of Ireland's Parliament, also said the UK Government's approach to Brexit would be "disastrous" for Ireland.
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He said: "They’re arguing that they’re going to leave the customs union and single market and that will end up a complete disaster for people here on the island of Ireland."
And he also revealed he tried to warn Tony Blair not to go to war in Iraq in the early 2000s.
He said: "Actually, myself and Martin [McGuinness] actually warned him about not getting involved in Iraq. We said look at the Irish experience, don’t go in there."
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