North East MP quits shadow cabinet over Trident disagreement with Jeremy Corbyn

Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, who openly disagrees with Corbyn on key issues, escaped the axe in the shake-up.

“If you look at Jonathan Reynolds, if you look at Mr [Michael] Dugher, if you look at some of these others, what do they have in common?”

McDonnell said that Corbyn was trying to “hold everyone together” while being “very clear about our direction of travel in terms of policy”.

He said he agreed with Jeremy Corbyn on a number of issues, but added: “It is really, really sad the number of lies and unfortunate statements that are coming out from the leader’s office about the situation”.

Mr Reynolds, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, also insisted he wanted “more freedom” to speak out about the future direction of the party.

Replying to Mr Corbyn’s attacks during Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Cameron said: “We are spending more on flood defence schemes and are stacking up a whole series of schemes that we’ll spend more on”.

The party leader managed to avoid a further spate of resignations, after he saved shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn from the sack. “And one thing we can agree on is you get what you see, which is basically someone who believes in what he says”.

Jonathan Reynolds and Stephen Doughty quit over the sacking of the shadow Europe minister Pat McFadden.

Britain’s Opposition Labour Party found itself in the midst of a major turmoil today after three ministers resigned from the shadow cabinet revolting against party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s decision to sack their colleagues for criticising his policies.

Former shadow communities secretary Emma Reynolds said: ” Sad to see that we are losing @MichaelDugher from shadow cabinet – an authentic northern voice & great talent in taking on Tories”.

The replacement of pro-Trident Shadow Defense Secretary Angela Eagle with anti-nukes stalwart Emily Thornberry has left supporters of the nuclear deterrent aghast, but succored those campaigning for disarmament.

He added: “We need to urgently recognise and re-affirm as a Labour Party that the national security and defence of our country in such a volatile world, is a red line and a matter that should and must transcend party politics, let alone the internal machinations of our own party or personal score-settling”. “We feel it is wrong, however, for politicians to pretend that there is no connection between British and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and South Asia, and the increase in terrorism over the past decade or more”.

McDonnell said, however, that Benn would now have to keep step with Corbyn’s views. I’m afraid they have to recognise that Jeremy got elected with the largest mandate of any political leader from any political party in our history.

The Labour leader intervened: “It wasn’t very amusing for them”. I thank him for all the support he has given me and wish him well.

“I don’t think removing him makes Labour’s chances of winning any greater”.

“I know he will continue be a strong advocate for fairness and social justice in parliament and will serve the people of Stalybridge and Hyde vigorously from the backbenches”.