JEREMY Corbyn has accused Labour MPs of “navel-gazing” and called for party unity after he was heckled at an “explosive” meeting in Parliament.

The row comes amid claims of a left-wing takeover plot involving the hard-left group Momentum and the Unite union.

4 Jeremy Corbyn has called for Labour to come together amid the hard-left plot row Credit: PA

Mr Corbyn made a fresh plea for members to come together and acknowledged that "spirits can run high" because Labour is a "passionate party".

But his video message was posted on Twitter just hours after he was given a torrid time by his own MPs at the weekly Parliamentary Labour Party meeting.

They angrily hit out at the leader's suggestion they were focused on infighting rather than campaign ahead of May's local elections.

4 It comes after his allies attacked the deputy leader Tom Watson Credit: PA

While others felt their questions on Mr Corbyn's strategy to revive support were not being answered, as a Guardian/ICM opinion poll showed Labour 19 points behind the Tories.

The hapless leftie was heckled by furious MPs who demanded he look in a “mirror” as others said the party’s “uselessness was emboldening the nationalist right”.

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Backbencher Wes Streeting said if MPs failed to speak out over Momentum they should “search their consciences as they drive Labour off a cliff”.

And in a pointed jibe to Mr Corbyn, Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale, who spoke at the meeting, said: “Never forget the best way to represent and deliver for working people will always be from the government benches.”

4 Union boss Len McCluskey was accused of a secret plot with hard-left group Momentum Credit: PA

It came as former Home Secretary Alan Johnson and other Labour figures defended deputy leader Tom Watson after he publicly warned the party's future was at risk from a "secret deal" between the Corbyn-backing Momentum and Unite boss Len McCluskey.

And Mr Corbyn's team was forced to deny they were behind briefings that Mr Watson was isolated at the shadow cabinet over his warnings after PLP chair John Cryer dismissed the suggestion and a number of MPs were sharply critical.

Earlier yesterday the deputy leader was rounded on at Unison's head office by Mr Corbyn’s closest allies in the Shadow Cabinet John McDonnell, Emily Thornberry and Diane Abbott.

4 Mr Corbyn's Twitter video message was released just hours after he was heckled by hiw own MPs Credit: Twitter

But Baroness Chakrabarti, another key member of the leader's inner circle, was said to have been "influential" in reaching an agreement on the joint statement by the leader and deputy.

Last night Ms Thornberry said Mr Watson should not have made his concerns about Momentum and Unite public, telling BBC Newsnight: "I think that it is important that internal discussions and fights within the Labour Party are done privately, we do not need to discuss them on the media.

"It seems to me that these are things that we can discuss internally."