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Labour MPs trying to force Jeremy Corbyn to resign have come under fire from a North East MP who said the attempted coup was “misjudged, mistimed and indulgent”.

Easington MP Grahame Morris spoke out in support of the Labour leader.

It came as other Labour MPs, including a number in the North East, took part in an organised attempt to force Mr Corbyn to step aside, by releasing statements saying they had no confidence in him and resigning from posts in the shadow front bench team.

Mr Morris, a Labour whip, said the party should be united in defending people who would be hurt by the outcome of last week’s referendum, when the UK voted to leave the European Union.

He said: “David Cameron and his Conservative Party sought a Referendum on the EU in order to address political divisions in his own party. As we have seen since Thursday, those divisions have now widened, and have resulted in a constitutional crisis, and a growing economic crisis for the nation due to uncertainty over the terms of Brexit.

“Whilst the Tory Party is entrenched in their own internal conflict, and as people are waking up to the fact that they have been betrayed with lies particularly in relation to additional NHS funding.

“It has given Labour a real opportunity to focus on our priorities and to set the agenda. For this reason it is essential that the Labour Party is united, with everyone standing shoulder to shoulder and speaking up for the very people who so desperately need us, especially in the North East.

“The country is looking to the Labour Party to set out a way forward but we need to be united to do this.

“This should be our sole focus in the coming days, and weeks instead of creating divisions, let us come together to find a way forward.”

Mr Morris added: “I am disappointed that those members of the Parliamentary Labour Party who have in truth never supported Jeremy have used the Referendum as an excuse to move against him in an effort to destabilise the party at this vital juncture.

“I believe the attack on Jeremy Corbyn is misjudged, mistimed and indulgent. After the Referendum result, it is vital that our Labour MPs return to their constituencies to begin to heal the dangerous fault lines that have split poorer working class communities and not be hidden away in the corridors of Westminster plotting against an elected leader with an overwhelming mandate.”