Image copyright PA Image caption Jeremy Corbyn accused the "populist right" of being "political parasites"

Jeremy Corbyn has urged progressive parties across Europe to unite against the rise of the "populist right".

In a speech in Prague, the Labour leader accused some right-wing parties of being "political parasites" who were "feeding on people's concerns".

Mr Corbyn said they had identified many of the "right problems" in society but their solutions were "toxic dead ends".

Unless progressives made a break with "failed" economics and politics, the far right would fill the gap, he said.

'Siren voices'

Mr Corbyn's speech at the Party of European Socialists follows the vote for Brexit in June's referendum and the success of Donald Trump in last month's US presidential elections.

The Freedom Party is now challenging for the presidency in Austria and Marine Le Pen's National Front hopes to do well in France.

Mr Corbyn said: "They are political parasites feeding on people's concerns and worsening conditions, blaming the most vulnerable for society's ills instead of offering a way for taking back real control of our lives from the elites who serve their own interests.

"But unless progressive parties and movements break with a failed economic and political establishment, it is the siren voices of the populist far right who will fill that gap."

The Labour leader said economic conditions had been exploited by the populist right.

"We know the gap between rich and poor is widening; we know living standards are stagnating or falling and insecurity is growing; we know that many people rightly feel left behind by the forces unleashed by globalisation, powerless in the face of deregulated corporate power," he said.

Brexit: All you need to know

On Brexit, he repeated his call for the government to guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain before it opened formal negotiations for withdrawal under Article 50.

He also invited leaders of socialist and progressive parties to a conference in London to discuss the best outcomes for both the UK and the EU.

"Labour is pushing for Brexit negotiations to be carried out in a transparent manner, in a spirit that aims to find a deal that works for all people across our continent," he added.