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Labour could switch its stance on Brexit if the British public change their minds about leaving the EU, Jeremy Corbyn ’s election campaign chief has said.

Speaking at an event in London, shadow cabinet minister Andrew Gwynne suggested Labour’s support for Brexit could be “flexible” if public opinion turns against leaving Europe.

His comments come amid a bitter row among party chiefs over whether Labour should support leaving the EU’s single market and customs union.

Mr Gwynne, Labour’s election guru and shadow communities secretary, said Labour “trod a very clever fine line” on Brexit during the 2017 election, by accepting the referendum result while demanding Britain keeps all the benefits of being in the single market.

But he admitted this balance “could become a political problem for the Labour Party ” over the coming months.

And hinting at a possible future shift he said: “We recognise that the country voted to leave. Whether public opinion shifts in the course of the next couple of years will be interesting to see.

(Image: SWNS.com) (Image: Getty Images Europe)

“And I think once the reality of what Brexit is going to look like becomes more apparent, it may well be that the political situation changes sufficiently that the Labour Party’s nuanced position might also have more flexibility.”

Mr Gwynne made clear any watering down of Labour’s support for a hard Brexit could only come if the public mood changes, however.

“As we speak I think we’ve got to tread that very fine cautious line on Brexit that got us through the election,” he said.

And Mr Gwynne, credited with overseeing Labour barnstorming election campaign, admitted both Labour and the Tories are badly divided over Brexit - and that voters in his own constituency of Denton and Reddish took a very different view to him on Europe.

“As a Remain-supporting MP representing a heavily Leave voting constituency, I am in a bit of a predicament,” he said.

“And I actually think the Labour Party trod a very clever fine line in the election that appealed to both Remain and Leave constituencies and Remain and Leave voters.

(Image: PA)

“I think it is our challenge to keep treading that fine line. Because yes, this could become a political problem for the Labour Party - but right now it’s one hell of a political problem for the Tories.”

Referring to the contrast between anti-Europe and pro-Europe Tory MPs, he went on: “Whatever deal they come back from Brussels with is not going to satisfy those on the ‘ultra’ wing of the Tory party, your John Redwoods and your Bill Cashs - they will see it as capitulation to Brussels.

“Likewise they’ve got to also make sure they don’t upset the Ken Clarkes and the Anna Soubrys of this world.”

But the Labour big-hitter added: “We’ve got the same issues.”

Mr Gwynne’s candid comments were made last week at a business event organised by PR firm Four Public Affairs.

At the weekend his party leader Mr Corbyn took to the airways to say Labour backs pulling Britain out of the EU single market.

But today Mr Corbyn was forced to slap down another shadow cabinet minister after they went much further and said Britain should also leave the customs union.

(Image: Daily Mirror)

Shadow International Trade Secretary Barry Gardiner, normally a Corbyn loyalist, told the BBC that staying in the customs union would be a “disaster”.

But Mr Corbyn’s spokesman said Labour must keep its options open as the Brexit talks continue.

“We need to be flexible in our approach and not sweep options off the table,” the spokesman said.

“As we spelled out in our election manifesto, Labour believes that the Brexit negotiations should put jobs and the economy first, with the priority of tariff-free access to the European single market.”

In a statement released to the Mirror tonight Mr Gwynne said: "Labour's been clear that we need to put jobs and the economy first in negotiations and be flexible in our approach to Brexit.

"This isn't about ignoring how people voted last year - quite the opposite, it's about ensuring that the deal we get in negotiations works for everyone in the UK, not just hard-line Tory backbenchers.

"I've always been clear, the rigid and reckless approach that the Tories are adopting crashing out of the EU and into the WTO will not only damage our economy, but alienates us from some of our closest allies."