Rebel shadow ministers who defied Jeremy Corbyn and voted against triggering formal Brexit negotiations have been told they can keep their jobs in a fresh blow to his authority.

The Labour leader and his chief whip decided on Friday to let 14 frontbench rebels - 11 shadow ministers and three whips - stay in post despite saying before the vote it would be "obviously impossible" for rebels to carry on in their jobs.

It caps a difficult week for Labour with the party's MPs deeply split over Mr Corbyn's decision to impose a three-line whip to force his MPs to vote for triggering Article 50.

A total of 52 MPs voted against the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill, with 17 of his shadow government defying him too.

Party rules state shadow ministers who refuse to obey a three-line whip must resign or face the sack. Four shadow cabinet ministers - Clive Lewis, Rachael Maskell, Dawn Butler and Jo Stevens - quit over the vote.


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However, the 11 shadow ministers and three whips, whose job it is to enforce party discipline, have been told they would be allowed to stay in post.

The decision means that Tulip Siddiq, the former shadow minister for early years, resigned for nothing.

The former frontbencher, who quit her post just days before Wednesday's vote, could have joined the rebels and kept her job.

The 11 shadow ministers who voted against the Bill in its final Commons stage without quitting their jobs were Rosena Allin-Khan, Kevin Brennan, Lyn Brown, Ruth Cadbury, Rupa Huq, Chi Onwurah, Stephen Pound, Andy Slaughter, Catherine West, Alan Whitehead and Daniel Zeichner.

The whips were Thangam Debbonaire, Vicky Foxcroft and Jeff Smith.

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A Labour source told Sky News: "Jeremy Corbyn and Nick Brown met earlier today to discuss it and decided, because of the exceptional circumstances of the vote, those who rebelled would not be losing their jobs.

"They are being given a written warning on future conduct and keeping to the whip.

"It was felt that those in the shadow cabinet who took the decision on the vote were bound by collective responsibility [where they have to support the shadow government's position] to obey the whip.

"But those who were not part of the decision, but are on the frontbench, were not given the exceptional circumstances."

Labour sources also said Mr Corbyn told his rebels that if they break the whip again they will be sacked.

Mr Corbyn appeared to have a change of heart over the rebellion after the vote, amid suggestions that he might struggle to restock his frontbench if he sacked all the rebels.

The U-turn comes just days after Mr Corybn was forced to deny he was standing down as leader.

One Labour backbencher described the situation as "farcical".