Jeremy Corbyn faces a ‘rolling ban’ on regaining Labour whip until he offers a full apology

Jeremy Corbyn faces a ‘semi-permanent’ rolling ban on sitting as a Labour MP as Sir Keir Starmer attempts to crush his predecessor’s challenge to his authority.

Sources close to the Labour leader confirmed that Mr Corbyn’s three-month suspension from the party at Westminster, announced last week, will be repeatedly renewed until he issues a full apology over the failure to tackle antisemitism on his watch.

The threat sparked fury from Labour’s Left wing last night, with former frontbencher Clive Lewis claiming it looked as though the leadership now wanted not just to defeat Mr Corbyn and his supporters but to ‘utterly destroy’ them.

Sir Keir’s tough approach was also challenged as it was claimed that Labour Chief Whip Nick Brown had serious reservations about the decision to stop Mr Corbyn from rejoining the Parliamentary Labour Party.

Mr Brown could not be reached for comment last night.

There were also claims from Mr Corbyn’s allies that Sir Keir found the nerve to suspend the party whip only after several of his frontbench team threatened to quit if he did not.

Even some moderate Labour MPs are privately scathing of the new leader’s handling of the affair, claiming that his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, ‘bungled’ negotiations to strike a deal with the ex-leader. 

Mr Corbyn was originally suspended from Labour last month for questioning the damning verdict of an Equalities and Human Rights Commission report into antisemitism in the party by saying the problem had been ‘overstated’.

He was re-admitted last week as a rank-and-file Labour member by a party disciplinary panel after withdrawing that remark.

But Sir Keir decided Mr Corbyn’s partial climbdown did not go far enough and announced that he would still be barred from sitting as a Labour MP.

Mr Corbyn, who is now forced to sit as an independent MP, is expected to launch a legal challenge against the decision, claiming Sir Keir has not followed party rules.

However, sources close to Sir Keir confirmed that Mr Corbyn’s current three-month suspension would be renewed unless he issued a proper apology for his conduct when he was leader.

Sir Keir is also said to have been ‘infuriated’ when former Corbyn speechwriter Alex Nunns tweeted that Mr Corbyn’s readmission as an ordinary member was ‘a huge climbdown from the leadership and a victory for the Left’.

Last night, party sources said criticism of Mr McSweeney was completely unfair.