Iain McNicol, Labour's former general secretary, has stepped down as a frontbencher pending the findings of the independent inquiry into a leaked report into the party's handling of anti-Semitism allegations.

McNicol, who was Labour's chief administrator from 2011 to 2018 and previously served as a whip in the House of Lords, was among a number of former Labour officials whose private communications were quoted in the report.

It alleges anti-Semitism complaints were poorly handled from the time of Jeremy Corbyn's first election as leader in September 2015 up until Jennie Formby's arrival as general secretary in April 2018 because opponents of the then leadership were in control of the party machinery.

His decision to quit the front bench is temporary and voluntary. A Labour Lords spokesperson told the New Statesman: "Iain’s stepping aside while the investigation is taking place."