I WAS impressed by John McDonnell’s apology and explanation on BBC’s Question Time regarding his apparent former support for IRA terrorism.

I was also pleased to learn that Corbyn’s Labour Party does not intend to leave NATO or Europe.

A week is a long time in politics – long enough learn that Sandi Toksvig has founded the intriguingly named Women’s Equality Party and to re-evaluate one’s attitude to Corbynmania.

Mr McDonnell appeared to be a sincere individual and, being no economist, I cannot gauge the validity of the Bank of England governor’s fears that his policies would ‘hurt’ the poor and ‘imperil’ Britain’s economic recovery.

In many ways my heart inclines towards Mr Corbyn but I cannot espouse his cause until, following the Shadow Chancellor’s example, he publicly requests that Hamas renounce such aspirations in its charter as, “Israel will exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it”.

In the same speech Mr Corbyn should demand of Hezbollah that they cease their support of Assad’s regime in Syria, an undoubted cause of the millions of refugees streaming from that traumatised land.

Anthony Hentschel

Nailsworth