Sir Keir Starmer said he would not be “deflected” by Labour rebels after he stripped the whip from several MPs. The Prime Minister suspended the whip from Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff.

Diane Abbott has said she stands by controversial comments about racism that led to her yearlong suspension from the Labour Party - and insists she has no regrets. In an interview for BBC Radio 4's Reflections with James Naughtie broadcast on Thursday morning,

Keir Starmer has suspended four Labour MPs for persistent breaches of party discipline, it has emerged. The prime minister decided to lay down the law after dozens of his own backbenchers rebelled against the government’s welfare cuts.