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Serial rebel Jeremy Corbyn used to be the thorn in the side of successive Labour leaders.

Yesterday he tasted the experience of what it’s like to be a Labour leader facing rebellious MPs.

Given the fact the majority of Labour MPs did not vote for him, his first Parliamentary Party meeting was never going to be a moment for party poppers and a jolly sing-a-long of the Red Flag.

There was no cheering or banging of desks when he arrived to address MPs and peers, many of them dismayed by his election.

Instead, flanked by deputy Tom Watson and newly-appointed Shadow Housing Minister John Healey, Corbyn faced a “hostile”, hour-long, policy grilling.

(Image: REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)

There was intense anger at his decision to snub women for top jobs in his inner circle, with Jess Phillips - elected an MP just four months ago - accusing him of letting women down.

One MP claimed Corbyn has “a women problem” while there was jeering as he tried to defend his controversial Shadow Cabinet picks as the “most inclusive” the party has ever had.

“Lots of people waded in to hammer Jeremy,” confided an insider.

“He was very uncomfortable with it, he was in difficulty and quite shocked. It really took him back.”

The brickbats kept on flying before the heavy wooden door flung open as several angry MPs walked out.

The catalyst? His response to what seemed a co-ordinated ambush by Simon Danzcuk and John Woodcock, two MPs on the party’s right wing.

Danczuk asked if Corbyn would wear a poppy to the Remembrance Day wreath-laying service at the Cenotaph.

Woodcock chimed in, saying he was about to ask the same question.

The sombre annual service is fraught with difficulty for left-wing Labour leaders; in 1981 Michael Foot was wrongly accused of wearing a donkey jacket to the solemn ceremony (it was actually a duffel coat), but the image stuck.

Most MPs expected Corbyn to state that “of course” he would wear a red poppy. Instead, he equivocated and defended wearing a white poppy, the symbol of peace, to previous Remembrance Day services.

His hesitation sparked gasps of shock even among MPs who want to give him the benefit of doubt.

(Image: SWNS)

An insider admitted: “It didn’t go down well at all. There were some people in that room like Dan Jarvis who have fought for our country. How do you think they felt?”

For some it was too much and they stormed out. As the door opened, loud sounds of discontent escaped from Room 14 and echoed along the wood-panelled corridor.

It didn’t end there. Corbyn was pressed on the EU, and whether he would rule out backing a British exit.

Again, he failed to give a straight answer, insisting only that Labour could not give David Cameron “a blank cheque” over his renegotiation strategy.

One MP told the Mirror: “He said he’d not made his mind up. (Veteran eurosceptic) Kate Hoey was very pleased. But most others weren’t.”

After the stormy 60-minute summit, Corbyn was ushered out of the door, refusing to speak to journalists as he, Watson and Healey hustled him to another meeting. He’ll have to get used to this.