Labour's deputy leader has defied Jeremy Corbyn to call for tighter controls on EU migration as the party battles to persuade its voters not to back a Brexit.

Tom Watson said the UK must remain in the union but look again at freedom of movement rules which allow EU citizens to live and work in Britain without any controls, triggering a deep rift over where Labour stands on migration.

He is the latest MP to speak out against Mr Corbyn, who has previously called EU free movement rules an "opportunity" for the UK and "not a problem or a fear".

A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said his views have not changed.

It came as Mr Corbyn called on voters to reject a Brexit vote in order to protect the NHS.

The Labour leader said he is "making the strongest case we can" to keep the UK in the EU and warned that Boris Johnson and Michael Gove are "wolves in sheep’s clothing, using their fake concern for the NHS to mask their real agenda".