Hilary Benn: Jeremy Corbyn can say what he likes but Labour supports shoot-to-kill policy

Mr Corbyn caused consternation among some of his Labour colleagues after he said he was "not happy" with the idea of a shoot-to-kill policy in the UK in the wake of the Paris terror attacks, which, thus far, has claimed 129 lives.

At a stormy meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party at Westminster on Monday night, the party leader was “savaged” by a series of MPs over his response to the events in Paris. One branded his leader a “f***ing disgrace”.

In a series of interviews prior to the meeting, Mr Corbyn questioned the legality of the drone strike which killed Mohammed Emwazi - known as Jihadi John – and suggested it would have been better if he had faced a court of law. He also told MPs they could not expect a free vote on extending RAF air strikes against Islamic State (IS) into Syria and warned that a "shoot-to-kill" policy could be "counter-productive".

In a speech in the City of London, David Cameron took a swipe at the Labour leader, suggesting the Leader of the Opposition was naïve in his approach, noting: “Those who say we should have somehow arrested Jihadi John don't get the reality of the world we are in..."

However, Mr Benn this morning insisted it had always been Labour's position that the police could use lethal force in circumstances like those in Paris where there was an immediate threat to human life.

"I can't answer for Jeremy,” declared the Leeds MP. “All I can say is what is the position of the party; the long-standing position in the United Kingdom. There are procedures; it has got to be reasonable, it has got to be proportionate, but you have got to protect human life.

"These are split-second decisions that the police and, in certain circumstances, the armed forces have to take but you have to protect people. Our policy remains the same," he explained.

Mr Benn also defended use of a US drone strike, in a joint operation with the UK, to kill Emwazi in the IS stronghold of Raqqa on Friday after Mr Corbyn said he wanted an explanation for the legal basis for the action.

"There is no doubt that he took part in the killing of a number of hostages, including David Haines and Alan Hemming, he presented a real threat, and therefore it is right in those circumstances to take the action that was taken by the Americans, with British support, because there was no realistic prospect of him being apprehended," said the Shadow Secretary of State.

Mr Benn also twice refused to say whether he would resign if Mr Corbyn went ahead with a planned appearance at the Stop the War rally next month.

"That is a decision for Jeremy," he inisisted.

He made clear Stop the War had been "wholly wrong" to put out a comment on Twitter saying Paris "reaps the whirlwind of Western support for extremist violence in the Middle East".

"This is not the fault of the French and I am glad that tweet was deleted. It is the fault of the attackers. They represent a threat to all of us and we have to take effective action," he added.

Meantime, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said when police officers intervened in life-threatening situations, there was a policy to stop the suspect and while that "might mean killing them", the force did not have a "shoot-to-kill" policy.

He said officers, such as those who responded to the Paris terror attacks, needed to know they would be supported by the force when they made split-second decisions.

"We work within the law and we make sure the people on the other side - the terrorists - know that we're as determined as they are, we're as ruthless as they are," declared Sir Bernard.

Asked whether Mr Corbyn's comments were unhelpful, he said: "Mr Corbyn's got to account for his own statements."

The Met Commissioner added: "I can only make clear we do not have a shoot-to-kill policy. We work within the law but the officers have some difficult decisions. They deserve all our support."