Emily Thornberry said that Labour believed a form of customs union was the only way to avoid a hard border with Ireland

Jeremy Corbyn will disappoint Labour MPs expecting a clearer commitment to remain in a customs union with the EU after a meeting of senior shadow ministers today.

Backbenchers had believed that Mr Corbyn would agree that Britain should stay in a customs union at a meeting of the shadow cabinet in a move that would have sharpened the divide between the two main parties on trade talks with Brussels.

Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, all but confirmed such a move when she told Peston on Sunday on ITV that Labour believed a form of customs union was the only way to avoid a hard border with Ireland. “We’ve looked at it and we cannot see a way forward when it comes to Northern Ireland