Labour cheerleaders have been queuing up to lay into Tory MP Andrew Rosindell over his comments about General Pinochet.  As we celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of our victory in the Falklands they choose to attack the Chilean leader who was our only ally in in the region during that conflict thousands of miles away. Pinochet gave crucial support, allowing British Special Forces to enter his country and British long range radar to be based in Chile saving the lives of British pilots and seamen. He also provided vital intelligence to Britain in the fight against the Argentinian junta.  Political Scrapbook ran a story on Friday and today Ed jumped on the bandwagon:

Disgraceful comment by Tory MP Andrew Rosindell who said: “I have huge admiration for General Pinochet.” Cameron must condemn these words

— EdMPress (@EdMPress) June 18, 2012

Rent-a-Gob Karl Turner has gone even further:

“It’s astonishing that a MP should praise a military dictator who overthrew an elected government and was responsible for the murder, torture and arbitrary imprisonment of thousands of people.”

That sounds familiar…

Guido is sure Labour types would want to be completely consistent on the issue and condemn all dictators equally.

Odd then that 65 Labour MPs – including usual suspects Diane Abbott, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Flynn – signed a motion praising the Cuban military dictator Fidel Castro in 2008. They paid tribute to Castro’s “achievements” and “the esteem in which he is held by the people of Latin America”. Will Ed condemn their words?