Corbyn offers condolences for Belfast policeman - despite him surviving shooting

Jeremy Corbyn has offered his condolences for the death of a Northern Ireland policeman shot over the weekend - despite the officer still being alive.

The community officer was shot three times in the arm with a high-velocity rifle but survived the drive-by shooting in north Belfast.

The Labour leader took to the Commons despatch box to pass on the sympathies of "the whole House" for the "police officer who lost his life".

Dissident republicans have been blamed for the petrol station shooting.

Theresa May opened the weekly session of Prime Minister's Questions by "sending out thoughts to the police officer who was shot" over the weekend.

Mr Corbyn said later: "I join the Prime Minister in expressing condolences, I'm sure of the whole House, to the family of the police officer who lost his life over the weekend in Northern Ireland."

The DUP's Ian Paisley said it was "not, thankfully, the case" that the policeman had died in the shooting and called for Mr Corbyn's mistake to be formally corrected.

.@NigelDoddsDUP Blasts Corbyn and Warns against Persecution of Security Forces : https://t.co/7ydZbEO841

— DUP (@duponline) January 25, 2017

He said: "For the family and for police officers generally, could we have that corrected by the frontbench spokesman as urgently as possible so as the record does not contain the spurious fact that a police officer was murdered in Belfast."

Commons Speaker John Bercow said there was "no need for any further correction".

"It was an error. I recognise what he said about how upsetting that will have been, but it was a mistake. It has subsequently been corrected."

A spokesman for the Labour leader later said: "He meant to say 'nearly died'. Obviously, the last thing that was intended was any offence."