Right on cue, Labour MP Diane Abbott and Independent MP Jeremy Corbyn have come out parroting Kremlin press releases about the Ukraine crisis. Both appeared on a ‘Stop the War’ panel last night to offer their pearls of wisdom on diplomacy and peace, with Abbott kicking off the event by blaming the West for increasing tensions, and claiming Russia shouldn’t even be treated as the aggressor. Спасибо comrade…

“We see that the United States has decided that it needs to send US and other NATO troops to Russia’s borders. This alone should tell us that the claims that Russia is the aggressor should be treated sceptically. The destabilisation in the entire region comes from the continued eastward expansion of NATO.”

The continued eastward expansion of NATO to Russia’s borders? Guido would love to know where Diane picked up this piece of intelligence. The last time Guido checked, Estonia and Latvia joined NATO two decades ago…

Following Diane’s expert lesson in geopolitics, it was time for Russian-hat lover Jezza to give it a go. Bring on the usual “both sides” routine…

“…We then have lethal weapons being shipped into the Ukraine… all building up on both sides. It is incredibly dangerous, and it is the US, with British support, that is leading the way on this. There has to be peace.”

“There are people in the Ukraine who would like to join NATO, there are people in the Ukraine who would not like to join NATO. Personally I think the build-up of a military presence on the borders of NATO to Russia is something that will only encourage the development and increasing presence of troops on the other side of the border.”

Guido didn’t hear the name “Putin” once during either speech. Perhaps he missed it. Labour can wash their hands of Corbyn, as Starmer indeed spent all of yesterday attempting to do. Diane, on the other hand, remains perfectly comfortable on the Labour backbenches…