Labour’s differences on Trident renewal may be “impossible to reconcile”, according to Andy Burnham.

The Shadow Home Secretary appeared to suggest that the party may have to settle for not having an official position on the policy, as it finds “some way of accommodating” both nuclear unilateralists and multilateralists. He also dismissed the idea of a “halfway house” compromise.

Speaking on the BBC’s Today programme, the former leadership candidate, who made clear that he is a supporter of renewing the nuclear missile system, said that it would be better for Labour to focus on other issues, as it is unlikely to find a single accepted position on Trident.

“There are two positions here which are difficult to reconcile, maybe impossible to reconcile, and the party has got to find some way of accommodating those positions and move forward and don’t let this issue take over everything,” he said.

“There are some hybrid options that have been put forward but I think most people have found that they just don’t work. So the discussion has been in the party: can you realistically try to find a halfway house? And most people have concluded that you can’t.”

Burnham was speaking after attending last night’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP), where Shadow Defence Secretary Emily Thornberry addressed MPs. Reports from inside the meeting suggest tempers frayed as the topic of Trident was discussed.

He added: “If there are two positions that are deeply held on both sides but can’t easily be reconciled, the party needs to find some way of accommodating that and allowing people to move forward and actually move on to other issues and hold the government to account.”

Thornberry also appeared on the programme, but played down talk of a febrile atmosphere at the PLP, claiming that “four, five, perhaps possibly six people” had “kicked off”. “But I don’t think they necessarily represent the whole of the Parliamentary Labour Party,” she added.

She also disputed Burnham’s claim that Labour support for a hybrid option would be untenable.

“I had been challenged and told that it was either Trident or nothing, that it was a binary option. And our view is that it is not necessarily a binary option. We do need to look at all the possibilities.”

Labour’s review into Defence policy, led by Thornberry, began last month, and it will not go unnoticed that the Shadow Defence Secretary cast doubt over the the effectiveness of Trident as a deterrent.

“If nuclear weapons need to be threatened, then they have failed. Everybody says that. The whole point about nuclear weapons is that you don’t use them,” she said.

Michael Dugher, who was sacked from the Shadow Cabinet a month ago, reacted to Thornberry’s interview on Twitter, suggesting that defence chiefs, the Labour Party, and the public disagreed with her.

Challenge who? Defence chiefs? The Labour Party (who voted at Conference to back it)? The public (see polls)? https://t.co/rcf10iY1M9 — Michael Dugher (@MichaelDugher) February 9, 2016

While Labour MP Madeleine Moon made her feelings known as she left last night’s PLP, tweeting that she would “need to go rest in a darkened room”.

https://twitter.com/MadeleineMoon/status/696769024584241152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw