Stop the War Coalition: Pressure mounts on Jeremy Corbyn as Green MP Caroline Lucas quits group

The pressure on Jeremy Corbyn over his links to the Stop the War Coalition has been ramped up after the Green Party's only MP quit the group. Caroline Lucas, a former vice-president of the organisation, stepped down from the controversial group because of her "busy schedule" and "in light of some recent positions that she didn't support".

"Caroline stepped back from the Stop the War Coalition a few weeks ago. Her busy parliamentary and constituency schedule means that she doesn't have time to fully engage with the role of a Patron and, in light of some recent Stop the War Coalition positions that she didn't support, she felt standing down was the responsible thing to do," a spokesman for the Brighton Pavilion MP said.

"Like the Stop the War Coalition, Caroline is opposed to British bombing in Syria because it will neither keep Britain safe nor help bring about a lasting peace in Syria."

The development, first reported on the Guido Fawkes blog, comes after Labour MP Tristram Hunt urged Corbyn, a former chair of the group, to not attend Stop the War's Christmas fundraiser dinner on 11 December in London. The Labour leader is scheduled to speak at the event alongside musician Brian Eno and Stop the War founder Lindsey German.

"I don't think that he should go there," Hunt told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show. "Stop the War Coalition picketed the Labour Party headquarters when we were trying to run a phone-bank for the Oldham by-election, so they were preventing the election of a Labour member of parliament."

Stop the War has also come under fire after, among other things, blaming the Islamic State (Isis)-linked Paris terror attacks on the UK and the US. "The hellish world we live in today is the result of deliberate policies and actions undertaken by the United States and its allies over the past decades," an article on the group's website claimed.

Lucas's spokesman told IBTimes UK that "to the best of his knowledge" the Green MP had not discussed her decision to quit with Corbyn. A Stop the War spokesperson said: "Lucas indicated a month ago that she wished to step back from involvement in Stop the War. However, we are delighted that both Caroline and Green party leader Natalie Bennett have spoken on Stop the War platforms since to condemn the bombing of Syria. We very much welcome their continued support and that of many Green Party activists."

A spokesman for Corbyn had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.