From Corbyn to coloured caravans - Greenbelt 2025

The former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has told an audience at the Greenbelt festival that all places of worship must be fully protected.

Corbyn, who is launching a new political party, was a main speaker at the annual festival of arts, faith and justice at Boughton House in Northamptonshire.

The three-day event attracted about 11,500 people to take part in worship, listen to music and talks, and participate in debates.

Corbyn said: "If somebody attacks a synagogue, they're attacking a mosque and a church."

The 76-year-old politician led the Labour party from 2015 to 2020 but lost two general elections.

He was suspended by Labour in 2023 after the row about antisemitism during his leadership and then stood as an Independent candidate to retain his London seat in 2024.

Asked about the antisemitism row, he said: "It's not right to criticise people for their faith when you disagree with them politically.

"It's perfectly possible to challenge what Israel does without descending into antisemitism."

He told the audience that an attack on one faith was effectively attacking all faiths, so targeting a synagogue was targeting a mosque and a church.

Rachel from Bognor Regis was in the audience and said he had dealt with the antisemitism issue "very well."

She added: "I think what he's saying is he's not anti-Israeli, he's anti-Zionism and the people bombing each other."

Gillian from Milton Keynes said she found Corbyn's speech "very moving" and she "identified with pretty much everything he said".

The festival began in 1974 and has been based at Boughton House near Kettering since 2014.

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