Mirren tells of fears for return of a hard border after Brexit

From left: Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Emily Thornberry and Sir Keir Starmer at the anti-Brexit march in Brighton yesterday

special conference of our party at the point that we have got this offer from the EU, we’ve got this as a remain — and hopefully reform — option.”

He added: “I will go along with whatever decision the party comes to.”

But shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry — whose actions were singled out by Mr McCluskey — deputy leader Tom Watson and London Mayor Sadiq Khan insisted the party must throw its weight behind the remain cause now rather than at a special conference after an election.

Mr Watson, who survived a bid to oust him — in part over his views on Europe — told a Labour

conference fringe event in Brighton: “Apparently, the reason (Corbyn-supporting Momentum group chief ) Jon Lansman tried to abolish me is because of my support for remain.

“Well I have got one message for Jon Lansman, I’m remaining. I might have lost a bit of weight — but I’m no pushover.

“We are not going to have these silly factional shenanigans that have been undermining the unity of this conference delaying us any more.”

Yesterday, Mr Corbyn also sought to play down a rift at the heart of his team after one of his closest aides, policy chief Andrew Fisher, resigned. And he claimed he did not know

that a motion to scrap Mr Watson’s position as deputy leader would be tabled at a meeting of the ruling National Executive Committee on the eve of the party’s conference.

Mr Corbyn said he gets on “absolutely fine” with Mr Watson — who has been a prominent critic of the leader — and conceded that while he knew there were “discussions going on about the role of deputy leader”, he did not know “that particular motion was going to be put at that time”.

The attempt to oust Mr Watson was abandoned on the first day of Labour’s conference following an intervention by the party leader.

Yesterday, Mr Khan claimed a “hierarchy” of racism appears to exist within Labour. He attacked the party’s handling of allegations of anti-Semitism and asked what purpose Labour served if it could not provide hope and solidarity for the Jewish community.

He told a Jewish Labour Movement fringe event at the party’s annual conference: “For me, racism is racism — there are no shades. Anti-Semitism is racism. And my concern about our party is there appears to be a hierarchy when it comes to racism.”

He added that “if we the Labour Party can’t give people hope and solidarity for the Jewish community then what purpose do we serve?”

Worry: Dame Helen Mirren ACTRESS Dame Helen Mirren has said it would be a “tragedy” if a hard border was reintroduced in Ireland because of Brexit.

The multi-award winning actress, who has filmed three movies in Ireland — Excalibur, Cal and Some Mother’s Son — said she doesn’t want to see Northern Ireland go back to the bad old days post-Brexit.

She told the Irish Sun on Sunday: “I was in Belfast at the time of the Troubles and it was a very different Belfast to how it is now.

“I was so excited to see things like Game Of Thrones being shot there and to see that beautiful, beautiful part of the country really beginning to flourish.

“It was very exciting for me, especially having seen it in its darkest days.

“All I can say is that I hope the North of Ireland continues to flourish. I hope that films will continue to be made there.

“It would be a tragedy to me if Northern Ireland again becomes cut off.”

Oscar winner Excalibur was shot in Wicklow in 1981. Mirren hit it off with her Ballymena-born co-star Liam Neeson with the pair dating for the next two years.

She then went on to film Cal in Northern Ireland in 1984, playing a British soldier’s widow who falls in love with her husband’s killer.

Twelve years later she returned to star in Some Mother’s Son, based on the hunger strike at the Maze Prison.

The superstar actress said she is proud of the contributions filmmakers make when they bring productions to a particular location.

She explained: “When movies come to town — as I’ve seen in Belfast and elsewhere — restaurants flourish, drivers thrive, there are so many jobs around the film industry that local people can pick up.

“Film people in general are open minded and energetic and there’s a great energy they bring to town. I really hope that the film industry in Belfast not only continues, but that it thrives.”