Corbyn Makes Firs Shadow Cabinet Reshuffle, Sacks Michael Dugher

Meanwhile, Hilary Benn, who also disagrees with the party leader on key issues including the bombing of IS targets in Syria, has escaped the widely anticipated axe but, despite denying that he has been “muzzled” by Mr Corbyn, it is hardly a convincing stay of execution.

He said Ms Eagle’s replacement, Emily Thornberry knew nothing about defence and said concerns about her appointment raised by the deputy Labour leader, Tom Watson, had been ignored. Thornberry has voted against renewing Trident.

Shadow culture secretary Michael Dugher was also pushed out because of public criticism of Corbyn.

Labour’s finance spokesman, John McDonnell, said Corbyn had questioned some leading lawmakers’ loyalty.

In what was seen as a compromise with Labour’s more moderate members, however, the party’s shadow foreign minister Hilary Benn, who had been tipped to be ousted after openly opposing Corbyn a year ago over military action in Syria, kept his job.

Shadow railways minister Jonathan Reynolds, shadow foreign affairs minister Stephen Doughty and shadow minister for the armed forces Kevan Jones resigned in protest over the sackings today.

The Labour spokesman described the alleged agreement that Mr Benn will not take a different policy line to the leader again as an “understanding”.

“I don’t accept a deliberate decision was taken to ignore the Jewish community because we were trying to seek somehow more important votes elsewhere, but I think that either through neglect or, frankly, in some instances incompetence, we mishandled our relationship with the Jewish community”.

“We are happy that we managed to finalise the shadow cabinet yesterday and we will make some amendments to the frontbench team as soon as possible”, said the source.

However, it was naive to allow him the freedom of the airwaves to mock the “new politics”.

Journalists were told on good authority more than a week before it began that Mr Corbyn was planning changes and were given the precise date – 4 January – when the process would begin.

Nine of Corbyn’s top team spoke out after the shadow culture secretary paid the price for “too much straight talking, honest politics”.

“If members want to campaign to leave, that’s not a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength and confidence that people can campaign on either side and come back together as a strong united Labour Party after the referedum”.

In a brief phone call this morning Mr Corbyn told Mr Dugher he hadn’t liked an article he wrote in the New Statesman on December 30 on a “revenge reshuffle” not being an example of Labour’s “new politics”.

But several senior figures had made it clear they viewed the role as a poisoned chalice, given the Labour leader’s pacifist stance.

Mr Dugher tweeted that the Labour leader had removed him from post, saying: “Just been sacked by Jeremy Corbyn”.

Calling his leadership a “rocky road”, and his comments following the Paris terror attacks and on national security were all “part of a number of incidents that Jeremy considered to be disloyal to the leadership”, the spokesman said.