Jeremy Corbyn on TTIP, Trident and the NHS

After Mr Corbyn was criticised by some for not singing the national anthem during commemorations for the Battle of Britain, the Labour leader told Channel 4 News: “Of course I love this country.

“I was born and brought up in this country and I love this country for so many things. But I love this country to be socially just, a fair country, a decent country. I love our NHS and I love those things about our country and that is what is really important and that is what Labour is really about.”

Jeremy Corbyn said that his instinct was to “battle to stay in Europe”. Some Labour MPs, most notably Chuka Umunna, refused to join his shadow cabinet citing doubts about his determination to remain in the European Union.

“I want to see a Europe that does more for social protection, does do much more for environmental protection and not simply a Europe of the free market.

“But also a Europe that does not sign away a lot of public services across the whole continent through the transatlantic trade and investment partnership – which has been negotiated secretly between the European Union and the USA.”

On Trident, Britain’s nuclear defence system, Mr Corbyn said that Labour was “having discussions” about whether it supported the government’s plan to renew it. Labour’s new deputy leader Tom Watson supports renewing Trident but Jeremy Corbyn spoke strongly against it during his leadership campaign.

“I’ve just been elected leader of the party with a mandate drawn from an enormous party and supporters electorate.

“I put it out there that my view was that when the vote comes in parliament in 2016 as it probably will, we should not vote to renew trident because I want to see us fulfil our obligations under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.”