Jared O'Mara was forced to leave after making sexist and homophobic comments

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reportedly tried to persuade Labour MP Jared O'Mara not to resign despite him making sexist and homophobic remarks.

Mr Corbyn, 68, is said to have had a private meeting with Labour MPs this week where he was reportedly speaking after Mr O'Mara had already quit.

He said Mr O'Mara should not have been forced to leave the influential committee.

But 36 hours later he asked Iain McNicol, the party's General Secretary, to suspend the Sheffield Hallam MP after his 'offensive' comments.

A source told The Sun Online: 'Corbyn stood up in response to Jared's statement and said he shouldn't stand down from the committee.'

Labour peer Shami Chakrabarti also defended Mr O'Mara and said that he deserves a second chance.

She told the BBC: 'People should be allowed to make mistakes and be allowed to show what they did wasn't right.'

It comes as Sarah Harding branded Mr O'Mara's joke about having an orgy with Girls Aloud 'vile' and 'obscene'.

The singer slammed him over his quip that Harding should be sacked so that he could have sex with the rest of the band.

He has already been suspended by Labour after senior members pressured the party to act over internet hate.

Harding blasted: 'His comments are vile and obscene. Whether he made them yesterday or several years ago, the fact remains they were made by a person who is now in high office.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reportedly tried to persuade Labour MP Jared O'Mara not to resign

'When he was selected as a prospective parliamentary candidate how on earth did this not come up? Was he not vetted? Did he really think he would get away with it?

'He then went to sit on the Select Committee for Women And Equalities for goodness sake, what else has this so-called respectable politician failed to tell the people who voted him into power?

'Is there anything else he's not telling us? Casually leaving this select committee as if he's done little wrong is not enough.'

Calling on Jeremy Corbyn to sack him, she went on: 'The Harvey Weinstein scandal surely tells us that you either allow this type of behaviour to happen and you sweep it under the 'red' carpet or you do something about it.'

Theresa May had already condemned O'Mara over his sexist comments and said women must be 'given the respect they deserve'.

Mr Corbyn's spokesman refused to comment on 'private meetings'.

Theresa May, pictured in the House of Commons during PMQs today, said women should be given respect as she condemned Mr O'Mara's sexist comments