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Jeremy Corbyn condemns jeering of Kezia Dugdale at hustings

Speaking in Edinburgh, Mr Corbyn is expected to say: “Drawing on Britain’s rich cultural heritage, Labour under my leadership will commit to extending access and participation in the arts to all people and all communities across Britain”.

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Mr Draper, a prominent supporter of Mr Corbyn and a Labour member for 40 years, said he was “disgusted and in shock” after receiving a letter saying he was suspended pending a hearing, a move which will prevent him voting in the leadership election.

Mr Corbyn responded by saying the SNP are “very good” at pretending to “adopt the clothes” of the Labour tradition in Scotland.

But this prompted an angry response from the Labour leader who accused his rival of “questionable” tactics and reminded them they had campaigned to together in Cardiff against Brexit.

Allies of Mr Corbyn have claimed there is a “rigged purge” of his supporters after a union leader was excluded.

During the hustings Mr Corbyn was also accused of being “happy” about the vote for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, amid repeated questions from Mr Smith about how he had voted on the issue.

If politics is about dividing lines, then the gulf between Jeremy Corbyn and Owen Smith on Europe was the only story in town last night.

He said: “Well I think Kezia is doing a fantastic job”.

A spokesperson said: “Mr Corbyn was elected previous year with a huge mandate from Labour Party members – the largest mandate of any leader in the history of British politics”.

He said: “I am extremely concerned that suspensions and bans are being imposed in an arbitrary or politically motivated way in this election, and I will be raising the issue with the general secretary”.

“And I’m really anxious that I’m hearing a Labour audience laughing and jeering at the leader of Scottish Labour”.

Lookers on may have already got the impression that many Labour members and supporters made their minds up a long time ago about which way to vote, and that not much is likely to change over the next few days.

– See Jeremy Corbyn’s policy pledges and Owen Smith’s policy pledges. He claimed: “There is creativity in all of us but we need to give people the opportunities for this creativity to flourish”.

Earlier, former Labour advisor Paul Sinclair claimed in an interview with BBC Scotland that Ms Dugdale could face a challenge from her deputy, Alex Rowley, if Mr Corbyn continues as UK Labour leader.

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“I hope my fellow artists will stand behind his vision and leadership”, he added.

Labour leadership candidate Owen Smith