The US Secretary of State has said Jeremy Corbyn’s apparent support for Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro is “disgusting”.

Mike Pompeo made his comment during a news conference in London with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

Unlike the UK government, Labour has refused to condemn Mr Maduro.

In February, Mr Corbyn said Venezuela’s future was a matter for its citizens and criticised calls for sanctions.

“We oppose outside interference in Venezuela, whether from the US or anywhere else,” the Labour leader said.

After being asked about Mr Corbyn’s apparent backing for Mr Maduro, Mr Pompeo told reporters: “It is disgusting to see leaders, not only in the United Kingdom but in the United States as well, who continue to support the murderous dictator Maduro.

“No leader from a country with Western democratic values ought to stand behind them.”

He added that the Venezuelan regime had caused “so much devastation, so much destruction” and said Mr Maduro was “on borrowed time”.

Mr Hunt said that “three million people have fled (Venezuela), GDP has gone down by 40% in the last four years, people can’t access basic medicine, people are rifling through rubbish bags to get food in the streets”.

The foreign secretary added: “(Shadow chancellor) John McDonnell describes this as socialism in action and I think people need to draw their own conclusions about what his own plans might be for the UK.”

The possible involvement of Chinese tech giant Huawei in Britain’s 5G network was also discussed.

Former defence secretary Gavin Williamson was sacked after an inquiry found “compelling evidence” that he leaked information from the National Security Council over the apparent plans – something he denies.

It is claimed that Huawei is very close to the Chinese state.

Asked about the controversy, Mr Pompeo said he had “great confidence that the United Kingdom will never take an action that will break the special relationship”.

He added: “With respect to 5G, we continue to have technical discussions. We are making our views very well known.

“From America’s perspective, each country has a sovereign right to make its own decision about how to deal with the challenge.”

Mr Hunt said that a final decision had not been taken and that the evidence was being considered “very carefully”.

He added: “But we would never take a decision that compromised our ability to share intelligence with our Five Eyes colleagues, in particular with the United States.

“We are absolutely clear that the security relationship that we have with the United States is what has underpinned the international order since 1945 and has led to unparalleled peace and prosperity, and the preservation of that is our number one foreign policy priority.”

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