Labour has been accused of a secret plot to reverse Brexit after its deputy leader in Brussels deleted lines in parliamentary documents promising to “respect” the referendum result.

Richard Corbett, Labour’s second most senior MEP, tabled a string of amendments seeking to water down the importance of the country’s vote to leave the EU.

One changed a line that said the European Parliament “stresses that this wish [to leave the EU] must be respected” to simply that the body “notes” the referendum.