Labour MPs have been warned that following Jeremy Corbyn’s orders and voting against a key piece of Brexit legislation risks plunging the country into chaos.

Caroline Flint, a Labour MP and a former Europe minister, said she will not adhere to the three-line-whip imposed by Mr Corbyn as she urged her colleagues not to try and “kill” the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.

MPs are due to vote on the Bill tonight with David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, having warned that blocking it would amount to agreeing to a “chaotic” exit from the bloc.

The Labour leadership has instructed its MPs to oppose the Bill amid fears that “Henry VIII” powers contained within the draft legislation would allow ministers to alter laws without full parliamentary scrutiny.

But Ms Flint told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that she intends to defy the whip as she cautioned against derailing a Bill which will transfer EU law onto British statute books.