Venezuela: Labour row over crisis in South American nation rumbles on
A Corbyn ally is accused of "backing the wrong side", after聽criticising the US for its "very shady record" in Latin America.
Thursday 3 August 2017 14:28, UK
The Labour row over Venezuela shows no sign of abating, with an ally of leader Jeremy Corbyn being accused of "backing the wrong side" in the crisis.
There have been the Venezuelan regime having previously expressed his support for it.
As a backbench MP, he hailed Mr Maduro's predecessor Hugo Chavez as an "inspiration to all of us fighting back against austerity and neo-liberal economics in Europe" and supported a parliamentary motion which congratulated Mr Maduro on his election and called for closer ties between Venezuela and the UK.
But Labour has hit back, with a member of the shadow cabinet telling Sky News the furore was a "politically motivated" attack and "trolling of the worst sort".
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has accused Mr Maduro of behaving like the "dictator of an evil regime" after he cracked down on anti-government protests following a widely disputed vote.
The Labour tensions over the crisis were reignited when shadow Home Office minister Chris Williamson criticised the US for its "very shady record" of influence in Latin America, including funding opposition groups in Venezuela.
He added that it "can't be right" for the US to hit Venezuela with financial sanctions when there is a "massive crisis" there.
Mr Williamson also sidestepped questions over whether his political philosophy was closer to former Labour leader and prime minister Tony Blair or Mr Maduro and Mr Chavez.
He told the BBC's Newsnight he was not an "apologist" for the Venezuelan government, adding: "Clearly they've made mistakes, they didn't do enough to diversify the economy.
"But look, they're under incredible pressure and there's a very one-sided, one-eyed view of the situation there very often in the British media."
Mr Corbyn's team has said they would not comment on Mr Williamson's interview.
MP Graham Jones has questioned his colleague's comments, telling the BBC's Today programme: "You don't have to be a supporter of Tony Blair to know that the answer is Tony Blair.
"Low inflation, growing economy, huge investment in public services versus Venezuela - rampant corruption, inflation at 720%, public services collapsing. It's not a difficult question if you're a Blair supporter or not."
Mr Jones, the chairman of the new all-party parliamentary group on Venezuela, later told Sky News that shadow Foreign Office minister Liz McInnes had already come out and condemned Mr Maduro.
He said he was convinced Mr Corbyn would make a statement "in his own time", adding: "Nobody can accept the human rights abuses that are going on in Venezuela."