Jeremy Corbyn bans press asking about Labour leadership

Labour MPs voted against Mr. Corbyn in a no-confidence motion on Tuesday by 172 to 40 after dozens of members of his frontbench team stepped down in recent days.

“I have done my best over this year to develop the policy changes we want and to reach out to people and to recognise that there are many people in the party who don’t completely agree with the direction I want to take it”.

Mr Watson’s intervention came after former leaders Ed Miliband, Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman joined calls for Mr Corbyn to quit.

News understands Eagle, the former shadow business secretary, will announce her leadership bid tomorrow afternoon unless Corbyn has resigned by then.

If she remains the only challenger, she will have the weight of the 81 per cent of Labour MPs who gave a vote of no confidence to Mr Corbyn behind her – along with party grandees from the New Labour years, swathes of the media and many other Labour-supporting public figures.

Mr Watson had previously kept his own counsel since racing back from Glastonbury on Sunday amid chaos within the party.

Cameron said hours after the vote that he would step down, having led a failed “remain” campaign.

On the economy, the PM said there would be “some very choppy waters ahead”, and targeted Mr Corbyn’s leadership at the end of their exchanges.

Britain’s opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Wednesday met trade union backers amid reports of a likely challenge to his leadership. “I’ve reluctantly reached the conclusion that his position is untenable”, the former party leader said. I would say: “for heaven’s sake man, go!”.

“I also recognise that the mandate was given by hundreds of thousands of ordinary people joining in the political process”, he said to cheers from supporters.

Britain’s most prominent Jewish leader said Mr Corbyn’s comments likening the Israeli state to jihadi terrorists were harmful, “however they were intended”.

The Labour leader showed no signs of being ready to quit as he addressed supporters in central London despite facing a potential leadership challenge.

It did find “an occasionally toxic atmosphere is in danger of shutting down free speech within the party” and called on Labour Party members to refrain from using Nazi imagery and metaphors when discussing current events in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

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“But my constituents and the country urgently need an effective, united Labour party to try and chart a progressive way forward for Britain after our exit from the European Union”.