Britain's Labour leader would not fire nuke button if he becomes PM

Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was embroiled in a war of words Wednesday after saying he would not fire Britain's nuclear bombs if he became the country's prime minister.

Senior members of his recently appointed opposition front bench, or shadow cabinet, quickly rounded on their boss, just 24 hours after his successful keynote speech at Labour's annual conference.

Although Corbyn has made clear his life-long opposition to nuclear weapons, the current Labour policy favors Britain maintaining its nuclear capability as a deterrent.

Corbyn's shadow defense secretary Maria Eagle said the words were "not helpful" and his shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn said the leader should abide by the party's policy on the Trident nuclear program. Eagle told reporters she was 'surprised he answered the question in the way that he did', adding it undermined Labour's policy process. Another shadow cabinet member Andy Burnham, one of the four contenders in the leadership race, said he would quit the front bench job Corbyn gave him last week if Britain abandoned its deterrent.

In his conference speech Corbyn won a rousing applause when he made it clear he was opposed to Britain, and the world, having nuclear weapons.

Since being chosen to stand in the leadership race three months ago Corbyn has made it clear his feelings about nuclear weapons.

One of his reported comments stated: "nuclear weapons didn't do the USA much good on 9/11".

He added that he was elected leader on a platform opposing Trident renewal.

Many of Labour's top team fear Corbyn's comments will act as a useful weapon for the party's opponent, particularly the ruling Conservative Party.

Prime Minister David Cameron has already said "Corbyn's comments showed Labour could not be trusted with Britain's national security."

Corbyn responded by saying the more than 150 billion U.S. dollars Britain will spend on its nuclear deterrent could be better spent on conventional equipment, as well as protecting the jobs of workers displaced should Britain's nuclear arsenal be scrapped.

Corbyn's stance, though, did find one ally in his left-wing shadow chancellor John McDonnell who said he didn't believe the use of nuclear weapons was morally appropriate.

A vote on replacing Britain's current nuclear deterrent with a more sophisticated Trident system is expected to take place at Westminster next year. Whether Corbyn wins the day among his own party will be one of the major battlegrounds in the runup to the vote. Defense experts say one Trident missile has eight times the capacity than the atomic bomb dropped on Japan in 1945. Endit