Jeremy Corbyn faces criticism over 'groaning and hissing' entourage at meetings with MPs

Jeremy Corbyn’s senior staff have been accused of “groaning and hissing” at rebel MPs who dared to criticise the Labour leader.

London MP Neil Coyle said members of the leader’s “entourage” tried to silence him and others during a feisty meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) in Westminster on Monday.

Today he has made a formal complaint to the PLP’s secretary about the conduct of Mr Corbyn’s staff and demanded clarity on how many of them are allowed in the weekly private meeting of MPs and peers.

In his letter, seen by the Evening Standard, Mr Coyle wrote: “I was particularly concerned to hear colleagues audibly groaned and hissed at by people in the Leader’s large entourage. MPs are there to represent CLPs [constituency Labour parties] and constituencies as well as the party as a whole. They are selected and elected by members and have a formal role at the PLP meetings.

“They have an absolute right to be heard and should not be interrupted by those who only hold observer status in the room.”

During Monday night’s spat between backbench MPs and the leader over his campaign group Momentum and the Copeland by-election, Mr Coyle heckled Mr Corbyn and criticised him for not answering questions.

He also took aim at Mr Corbyn’s team for briefing against deputy leader Tom Watson.

In his letter, he said: “There seem to be more and more staffers [in the meeting] every week - and certainly when Jeremy Corbyn bothers to attend (albeit to avoid answering questions). That section is getting louder and distracting from the meeting.”

A source close to Mr Corbyn said: “This is a melodramatic version of events, and in some parts completely untrue. Nobody was shouting or hissing. There were more staff there than usual as the Scotland Political Advisor and Scottish Labour advisor were there. There were also people from Tom Watson’s office, Kezia Dugdale’s office and around half a dozen others from the PLP office and Labour HQ.

“Attacks in the media on members of staff are unacceptable, and it is disappointing that Neil Coyle did not raise this issue with the leader’s office before it appeared in the press.”

Former London mayor Ken Livingstone has today called for the suspension of “about a dozen” Labour MPs who he claimed are “consciously undermining” Mr Corbyn.

Mr Livingstone, a close Corbyn ally who is himself currently suspended from the party over allegedly anti-Semitic statements, named Chuka Umunna and Wes Streeting among the MPs he said were damaging Labour.

He called for the reintroduction of automatic re-selection of MPs, reviving the prospect that figures from the centrist wing of the party could be removed by grassroots Corbyn supporters.