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Labour will order infiltrators' votes to be removed even after they've been cast in the leadership election, party sources have revealed.

The party will carry on vetting people right up until the September 10 voting deadline to stop 'stooges' and 'entryists' taking over the race.

Insiders say that means they will tell independent vote-counters to strip out individual ballots if they suspect foul play - for example if a Tory stooge mocks Labour by posting their paper on Twitter.

The decision's been attacked by the Electoral Reform Society campaign group - which partly owns the company running the election - as it said Labour should delay sending out ballot papers for a few days.

(Image: Getty)

Sources insist the content of the votes themselves will remain anonymous, but say each ballot paper will still be linked to a voter's name.

That means although Labour won't know how someone has voted, Electoral Reform Services Ltd (ERS), which is organising the vote, can trace their ballot.

A Labour source told Mirror Online: "No ballot paper will go to someone who's not been verified, but the verification process goes on.

"We have big lists and we're constantly improving and updating those lists, and things may emerge once someone's received their ballot.

"We can then cancel their ballots. ERS will anonymise them but will be able to refer to the number that's been generated and remove them."

The stringent rules come as 78 Labour staff vet tens of thousands of people who've signed up at the last minute.

They're scouring social media feeds to check if sign-ups are Tory saboteurs voting for Jeremy Corbyn or hard-left 'entryists' who've stood against Labour in the past.

They've already banned 1,200 from the vote, including the film director and Left Unity party founder Ken Loach.

The latest approach has been attacked by the Electoral Reform Society campaign group, which owns a stake in ERS.

Deputy chief executive Darren Hughes said there are 'clearly problems' with the way the vote has been organised.

Jeremy Corbyn on course for landslide win in shock poll YouGov/The Times, August 10

He added: "It’s obvious that there are some people who don’t genuinely support Labour who have signed up and shouldn’t be able to take part.

"But instead of getting things started and then destroying some votes later on if they find people from other parties, Labour should delay sending out the ballots for a few more days so they can sort this out before it gets worse.

"It was always going to be a heroic undertaking to deal with these hundreds of thousands of new members and supporters in such a short space of time.

"The best thing to do now would be to spend a little more time checking who can vote before ballots go out to ensure there is faith in the democratic process."

(Image: PA)

The first batch of ballot papers will be sent out on Friday to long-standing members who've already been verified.

Other ballot papers will then be sent out throughout the next few weeks.

As of yesterday 444,000 people had put down their names for the leadership ballot - just 194,000 of whom were Labour members before the election.

They're made up of 282,000 paid-up members, 92,000 union affiliates and 70,000 registered supporters who've paid a £3 fee.

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It's thought that number will have risen far higher by the extended registration deadline of 3pm today.

The runaway bookies' favourite is left-winger Jeremy Corbyn, who a YouGov poll put on 53% of the vote - 32 points ahead of nearest rival Andy Burnham.

Backers of Mr Burnham, Yvette Cooper and Liz Kendall warn Labour will never win a general election under Mr Corbyn.

And they fear hard-left 'entryists' who've previously stood against Labour could spin the vote.

poll loading Who do you want to be the next Labour leader? 2000+ VOTES SO FAR Andy Burnham Yvette Cooper Jeremy Corbyn Liz Kendall

Mr Corbyn rejected the claims today, saying: "The response to the Labour leadership race from party members and supporters, longstanding and new, is proof of the optimism in the possibility of a popular, modern alternative to the Conservative government.

"All of our focus must be on channelling this extraordinary movement towards a united party that is able to find its confidence and defeat the Conservatives in 2020.

"I particularly want to pay tribute to the Labour Party’s staff who have worked so hard to deliver a robust selection system in totally new circumstances.

"The professionalism and commitment of the party’s staff shows our movement at its best."

Electoral Reform Services' chief executive confirmed the firm can ditch individual votes if Labour asks it to.