Jeremy Corbyn has been told to “call off the dogs” as he faces a vote of no confidence in his Labour leadership.
MPs will today hold a secret ballot stating whether or not they support Mr Corbyn to continue in post following a stormy showdown with MPs in the House of Commons last night.
The Courier can also reveal that the UK leader has not spoken to his Scottish counterpart, Kezia Dugdale, since the crisis developed over the weekend.
Former Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, the party’s only MP north of the border, was furious about a protests outside his Edinburgh South constituency office which took place in the wake of his resignation from the shadow cabinet. He sent his staff home early as a precaution against any intimidation.
Mr Murray then blasted Mr Corbyn at the meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, urging him to “call off the dogs” as thousands of protesters gathered outside the Houses of Parliament.
Two-thirds of Mr Corbyn’s shadow cabinet has now quit in an open revolt against Mr Corbyn’s leadership.
He was jeered by his own MPs who cried “resign” as he used a Commons appearance to hit out at the rebels “indulging” in manoeuvres against him.
Mr Cobyn was flanked by stony-faced deputy leader Tom Watson, who earlier held crisis talks with the leader and warned him he was likely to face a challenge, as he delivered the rebuke.
Former home secretary Alan Johnson, who ran Labour’s campaign for a Remain vote in the EU referendum, later claimed that Mr Corbyn’s office had undermined the effort.
Mr Corbyn, who addressed the Westminster rally by campaign group Momentum after the PLP meeting, refused to quit and told MPs he could win a general election.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell added: “We will not allow the democracy of our movement to be undermined by a handful of MPs who refuse to accept Jeremy’s mandate.”
