The Ministry of Defence has launched an investigation after a video emerged on social media showing members of the parachute regiment firing at a poster of Jeremy Corbyn at a target range in Kabul.
The leaked video shows four soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, firing simulation weapons at an image of the Labour leader, which is studded with bullet marks. Its emergence has provoked safety fears from Labour and other politicians, at a time when feelings are running high over the Brexit debate.
The behaviour in the video has been widely condemned. An Army spokesman said: “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.”
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A spokesman for the Labour party said the soldiers’ behaviour is “alarming and unacceptable”. Dan Jarvis, a Labour MP and former army major, tweeted that the video “goes against the values and standards” of the army.
Also on Twitter, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said he commends the “prompt and clear leadership shown by the Army in investigating this troubling video”.
The Brexit minister, Robin Walker, told BBC Radio Five live that the video was “extremely distasteful”.
He added: “We might have strong views on one another in parliament, but clearly that kind of violence is unacceptable in any context about a democratically elected representative.”
The army chief Brigadier Nick Perry said the military was taking the matter “extremely seriously" and that the video shows “totally unacceptable behaviour”.
However, the former British soldier Trevor Coult, who had earlier circulated the video, has since claimed it was fake. Coult shared the video on Twitter with the message: “Not looking good for a Labour leader.”
But he has subsequently claimed the video had been "photoshopped".
