Labour leadership: Morgan rejects 'hard left' Corbyn

Jeremy Corbyn's "hard left" campaign to be Labour leader has been rejected by former first minister Rhodri Morgan as "nothing to do" with his own "clear red water" policies for Wales.

Mr Morgan had used the phrase to distinguish his "classic Labour" stance from the more centrist approach of then Prime Minister Tony Blair.

He told BBC Radio Wales Yvette Cooper had the "strength" to be Labour leader.

Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall are also standing in the leadership contest.

'Massive gap'

Campaigning in Wales on Tuesday, Mr Corbyn said he had admired Mr Morgan's record as first minister and hoped that he could "narrow the red water" between Welsh Labour and the UK party.

However, Mr Morgan told BBC Radio Wales on Friday that, although they had both been critical of Mr Blair, the leadership contender was "not in the same place as me".

"There's a massive gap between what you could call Corbynism and Blairism, and I attempted to fill that gap with what I call classic Labour," Mr Morgan said.

"He's not classic Labour - he's old, hard left Labour, so it's got nothing to do with my clear red water speech at all."

Mr Morgan said he backed Yvette Cooper for the Labour leadership, saying: "She's got the strength and she's got the capability.

"Sometimes people can be wonderful prime ministers but they can't get there because they're not that wonderful as campaigners ... they don't have that sense of mission in them.

"Jeremy Corbyn has certainly got the sense of mission but I'm sure he doesn't envisage himself as a prime minister - and that's the paradox."

Ms Cooper was visiting Wales on Friday to meet Labour members in Connah's Quay, Flintshire, which Mr Corbyn visited on Monday.

Yvette Cooper, Jeremy Corbyn, Liz Kendall and Andy Burnham hope to succeed Ed Miliband