Public schools will be abolished if Labour comes to power and ordered to sell off their buildings and playing fields as they are "integrated" into the state sector.

Labour members at the party's conference voted yesterday evening to include in the party's manifesto a full throttle assault on the country's public schools which will threaten their existence.

Independent schools will lose tax breaks worth billions of pounds and be ordered to sell off their buildings and playing fields if Labour wins the next general election.

The motion which was backed by senior figures including shadow Chancellor John McDonnell requires Labour to pursue as its policy "a commitment to integrate all private schools into the state sector".

As a minimum this will include the "withdrawal of charitable status and all other public subsidies and tax privileges, including business rate exemption".

Universities will only be allowed to accept 7 per cent of their students from public schools rather than the estimated 10 per cent of all universities today.

In addition "endowments, investments and properties held by private schools [will have] to be redistributed democratically and fairly across the country's educational institutions".