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Wallasey MP Angela Eagle accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of “stirring” things after she cancelled constituency surgeries over safety fears.

The former Labour leadership contender claims she was advised by police not to hold public advice sessions in her constituency .

But Merseyside Police said the decision to cancel surgeries was a matter for the MP and her staff.

Ms Eagle claimed a “permissive” environment had been allowed to develop where MPs opposed to Mr Corbyn faced abuse.

The claim came after hundreds of Corbyn supporters attended a rally in Liverpool to support their embattled leader.

Ms Eagle pledged to fight Mr Corbyn for the party leadership, but secured fewer nominations from MPs than fellow challenger Owen Smith so she dropped out of the race .

A brick was thrown through her constituency office window after she launched her leadership campaign.

And the Wallasey constituency Labour Party was later suspended amid allegations of bullying and abuse.

Ms Eagle told the Daily Telegraph: “I think he (Mr Corbyn) has contributed to this. It’s all very well to condemn it, but there’s a permissive environment.

“You can make any number of ritual condemnations as you like but you have got to be judged by your actions, not just words.

'I’m afraid for my staff'

“He has been stirring, he needs to be held to account. We have contacted the police and they have said we should cancel surgeries for safety reasons.

“I’m afraid for my staff. It’s them that have been up there, not me. It’s them that have had to field the calls.”

Earlier, Ms Eagle told the ECHO: “Because we have been getting so much abuse direct to the office and the advice surgeries are normally done in public, (the police) have sent me an email advising me to cancel them.”

She added that fears had been heightened following the killing of fellow Labour MP Jo Cox.

Ms Eagle: “I think it’s also in the aftermath of what happened to Jo Cox. I am going to take their (police) advice this time, but people can still contact my office by phone and email.

“It’s with great reluctance that I’m doing this, but the safety of my staff is paramount.”

Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Kenwright, from Merseyside Police, said: “We have given Ms Eagle advice about her surgeries, at her request, but the decision to cancel surgeries is not a police matter and would lie entirely with them.”