UK Army probes 'Jeremy Corbyn target practice' video

The British Army on Wednesday said that it was investigating a video showing soldiers using an image of opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn for target practice.

The footage, which allegedly showed four paratroopers firing rounds at an indoor practice range in Kabul, Afghanistan, was met with overwhelming condemnation when it surfaced on social media, according to the British media.

"We are aware of a video circulating on social media, this behaviour is totally unacceptable and falls well below the high standards the Army expects, a full investigation has been launched," an Army spokesperson told the press.

The cellphone footage was first posted on Snapchat, according to the British broadcaster Sky News. It later spread to Twitter and showed the soldiers lining up with guns and firing paint rounds at a larger-than-life portrait of Corbyn.

Brigadier Perry, commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, said there were currently 400 soldiers from his brigade working with NATO and Afghan partners in Afghanistan, where the footage is thought to have been filmed, the BBC reported.

He said they were doing an "outstanding job in theatre" but this incident would be fully investigated.

A Labour Party spokesman called the behaviour "alarming and unacceptable" but said they had confidence in the Ministry of Defence to investigate and act on this incident.

Prime Minister Theresa May's official spokesperson said she was aware of the video but had not watched it, and had called it "clearly unacceptable".

Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, a former lieutenant colonel who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, called the video "disgraceful".

Conservative Minister for Prisons Rory Stewart said it was "completely wrong" and the soldiers' behaviour was "outrageous".

Scotland's First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon called the video "appalling" and welcomed the investigation.

The emergence of the video came at a time of heightened alarm about the safety of MPs as tensions rise over Brexit.

--IANS

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