Jeremy Corbyn took aim at media mogul Rupert Murdoch, warned journalists over their reporting and hit out at the “elite” as he launched his General Election campaign.
The Labour leader vowed to go after the “tax dodgers”, “dodgy landlords” and “bad bosses” in an anti-establishment speech to kick off his battle for the December 12 vote.
Among those he called out were billionaire heir the Duke of Westminster, “big polluters” like petrochemical magnate Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Mr Murdoch “whose empire pumps out propaganda to support a rigged system”.
And he painted the Tories as the “establishment elite”, accusing the party and leader Prime Minister Boris Johnson of cosying up to power and wealth.
“What the elite are actually afraid of is paying their taxes,” Mr Corbyn told supporters in London on Thursday.
“So, in this election, they’ll fight harder and dirtier than ever before. They’ll throw everything at us because they know we’re not afraid to take them on.”
The media faced criticism from Labour supporters as Mr Corbyn took questions after his speech in the Battersea Arts Centre.
BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg asked how he would secure a majority on a similar platform to when he failed in the 2017 general election.
“With no thanks to you Laura,” shouted one supporter to criticism from some of the audience but cheers from many more.
Sky political editor Beth Rigby questioned whether Mr Corbyn would stand aside if he lost another general election.
Much of the crowd shouted back “no” in a loud chorus, while one supporter said: “No, shut up.”
Mr Corbyn thanked the media for their questions and later added to loud applause: “I would ask our media, as good journalists, to just report what we say.”
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