Sky News remove article calling Corbyn “Jihadi Jez” after tens of thousands sign angry petition
Sky News has removed an article from its website which referred to Jeremy Corbyn as “Jihadi Jez” after it received a petition signed by more than 50,000 people.
The article quoted an anonymous source who was reported to have called Corbyn “Jihadi Jez” after the Labour leader said it would have been better if ISIS executioner Mohammed Emwazi – known as Jihadi John – had been arrested rather than killed in a drone strike.
Published just hours before the Paris attacks, the article quickly evoked outrage from readers who viewed the comparison as disrespectful to those who were killed by him.
The petition, which has since been signed by over 51,000 people reads: “ To equate the labour leader with a terrorist who zealously murdered innocent people is not just an insult to Jeremy Corbyn, but it is an insult to all of Emwazi’s victims, some of whom have expressed similar sentiments regarding a preference for trial, as those articulated by Jeremy Corbyn.
“We demand Sky News remove this disgusting tasteless headline instantly, followed by an apology for the frivolous and disgraceful use of the term jihadi in this way.”
Sky News maintained that the article was fair but decided to remove the reference following the events in Paris which occurred shortly after publication.