British opposition leader calls for ‘back channel’ to Islamic State, invites Trump to visit London mosque

British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn says there should be a communications channel created with the Islamic State group in hopes of ending the war in Syria.

The Labour leader told the BBC on Sunday that a back channel – similar to the one created with the Irish Republican Army during the decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland – should be established.

Corbyn says “There has to be a route through somewhere,” particularly given that some IS commanders are former officers in the Iraqi Army.

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He says “there has to be some understanding of where their strong points are, where their weak points are”.

Corbyn also reiterated his long-standing opposition to Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent and suggested that submarines could be deployed without nuclear warheads on them.

Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show, Corbyn invited US Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, who sparked an outcry by calling for a ban on Muslims from entering the US, to join him on a visit to a London mosque.

The comments from opposition leader, a socialist who represents a multi-ethnic district of north London, come a day before the British parliament debates a motion calling for a ban on half-Scottish Trump from visiting the country.