THERESA May has hit out at Jeremy Corbyn, accusing him of “making excuses” for terrorists after he linked the Manchester bombing with Britain’s foreign policy.

The Prime Minister, speaking at the G7 summit in Sicily, claimed the Labour leader’s speech on security had said Monday’s terror atrocity, in which 22 people died and injured dozens more, was “our fault”.

She said his remarks showed he was “not up to the job” of leading the country.

As campaigning resumed following the Manchester Arena terror attack, Mr Corbyn was careful to stress that foreign policy decisions could not "remotely excuse" the actions of terrorists such as the suicide bomber Salman Abedi.

But Mrs May, once again emphasising the presidential nature of the election contest, sought to draw a contrast between herself and her Labour opponent.

She told a press conference: "What has happened today is I have been here at the G7 working with other international leaders to fight terrorism. At the same time, Jeremy Corbyn has said that terror attacks in Britain are our own fault.

"He has chosen to do that just a few days after one of the worst terrorist atrocities we have experienced in the UK. I want to make one thing very clear to Jeremy Corbyn and to you: it is that there can never, ever be an excuse for terrorism. There can be no excuse for what happened in Manchester.”

She added: “The choice that people face at the General Election has just become starker. It is a choice between me, working constantly to protect the national interest and protect our security; and Jeremy Corbyn, who frankly isn't up to the job."

Later in an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil, Mr Corbyn stressed how the Manchester bombing was “shocking, appalling, indefensible, wrong in every possible way” and that it was a “consequence of one person going into a music event and killing a very large number of people”.

When asked if it was not linked to foreign policy, the Labour leader replied: “I made the point that if we are to have a secure future we’ve got to look at ungoverned spaces around the world and the consequences of our wars of intervention. This is not just me; as I said it’s MI5, it’s the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, it’s a number of other people.”

Mr Neil quoted a statement from the so-called Islamic State terror group, saying the West’s foreign policy was a secondary reason for its hatred. “’Even if you were to stop bombing us we would continue to hate you. Our primary reason for hating you will not cease to exist until you embrace Islam,.’”

When it was suggested British foreign policy was not, therefore, the reason for the terror attacks, Mr Corbyn replied: “You have the consequences of our interventions in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Libya, leaving large numbers of ungoverned spaces, leaving people in a desperate situation, who themselves may become prey to that form of perversion[of Islam]”.

Mrs May's swipe at Mr Corbyn came after Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, branded the Labour leader "monstrous" for his remarks on security following the Manchester bombing.

He said it was "absolutely extraordinary and inexplicable in this week of all weeks that there should be any attempt to justify or to legitimate the actions of terrorists in this way".

In his speech in London Mr Corbyn said the "war on terror is not working" and argued experts - "including professionals in our intelligence and security services" - had pointed to the connection between the UK's involvement in foreign wars, such as the Libya intervention, and terrorism at home.

Elsewhere in the Neil interview, Mr Corbyn said:

*“I didn’t support the IRA. I don’t support the IRA. What I want everywhere is a peace process”;

*asked if he still believed Nato was “a very dangerous Frankenstein” and a “danger to world peace,” he replied: “I want to work within Nato to achieve stability…{and]to promote a human rights democracy” and

*asked repeatedly if he supported the renewal of Trident, said: “I voted against the renewal; everybody knows that because I wanted to go in a different direction,” but added Labour policy was for renewal and “I respect that decision going ahead.”

Priti Patel, the Overseas Aid Secretary, said Mr Corbyn “spent half an hour trying to escape from everything he had said and done in his 30 years in politics”.

She added: “The fact is he backed the IRA, doesn’t support Nato, wouldn’t renew Trident, wants to increase immigration and wants to massively increase taxes on working families…Brexit is central to everything; a vote for anyone other than Theresa May puts Corbyn in Downing Street and everything at risk.”