An MP at Lord Mandelson’s get-together said it was ‘more about saving Labour than setting up a new party’

Two of Labour’s biggest beasts have buried years of enmity to host a secret dinner where moderate MPs plotted to save the party from Jeremy Corbyn and the prospects of starting a new one, The Sunday Times can reveal.

Lord Mandelson and Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, were joined by about 10 moderate Labour MPs for a barbecue at Mandelson’s London home on July 24.

The discussions also included how to get Corbyn to back a second Brexit referendum and the leader’s handling of the anti-semitism crisis engulfing the party.

The alliance — which will trouble Corbyn’s team — is significant since it unites one of Tony Blair’s closest confidants with a leading acolyte of Gordon Brown.

Watson helped force Blair from power after leading