After Labour's local election results proved to be less catastrophic than many pundits predicted, John McDonnell told party naysayers it was time to 'put up or shut up'. The comments went on to anger disgruntled Blairites in Labour who argue the party ought to strive for greater success.

Speaking on the Sunday Politics, Caroline Flint appeared to reinforce this point as she said it wasn't enough for the shadow chancellor to say Labour was looking to 'hang on':

“ 'We need to make a hell of a lot more progress. It's not enough. We have to show we are a party that is competitively challenging for government. We have to reach out beyond.'

Alas the interview angered McDonnell who claims Flint misquoted him. Unhappy with her words, McDonnell decided the best thing to do was write an annoyed message calling for a formal apology and retraction... on Twitter:

Given that McDonnell previously told Pienaar’s Politics that Labour wanted to 'hold on to as much as we possibly can', Mr S suspects that he is on shaky ground. However, should he wish to discuss the matter further, he could of course try using the phone rather than airing Labour's dirty laundry on social media.

https://twitter.com/CarolineFlintMP/status/729388472574853120

Helpfully, Flint has told McDonnell the Shadow Chief Whip can supply him with her number:

https://twitter.com/CarolineFlintMP/status/729388566049132544

It seems that 'straight talking, honest politics' does not involve directly speaking to your own MPs.