Chuka Umunna held a secret meeting with Hillary Clinton’s campaign team to advise her on how to beat a Democratic rival for the presidency dubbed the ‘American Jeremy Corbyn’.

Labour MP Mr Umunna – who is tipped to mount a challenge to Mr Corbyn before the next General Election – arranged the encounter as Mrs Clinton began her bid for the White House.

A leaked email from Mrs Clinton’s private server, released by the WikiLeaks website, reveals that a member of Mr Umunna’s team sent a message to John Podesta, chairman of the Clinton campaign, on July 19 last year saying: ‘Chuka Umunna… is in NYC [New York City] on Thursday… he’d love to come by and see you and share his insights on why Labour did so badly in May, and what HRC [Hillary Rodham Clinton] campaign might take away from that.’

Chuka Umunna is said to have had a meeting in the States where he met Hillary Clinton's team

Sources close to Mr Umunna confirmed he met Mr Podesta and discussed the rise of Corbynism and the threat posed by Bernie Sanders – her Democratic rival dubbed ‘the US Jeremy Corbyn’ because of his pledge to redistribute the country’s wealth – who at the time was starting to surge in the polls.

The septuagenarian liberal dropped out of the race four months ago, leaving Mrs Clinton clear to contest the presidency against Republican Donald Trump.

Labour MP Mr Umunna – who is tipped to mount a challenge to Mr Corbyn before the next General Election – arranged the encounter as Mrs Clinton began her bid for the White House

The Chuka meeting with the Clinton camp coincided with the point when Mr Corbyn had become the frontrunner to succeed Ed Miliband.