... as Corbyn is rounded on by his own backbenchers

FURIOUS Labour MPs rounded on Jeremy Corbyn over Brexit last night as he appeared in front of the party’s backbenchers.

During a mammoth meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, MPs from both sides of the debate turned on their leader, questioning his lack of a clear stance on Brexit and his ability to become Prime Minister.

It came as party deputy leader Tom Watson added to Labour’s confusion over Brexit by declaring it was now the party of ‘remain and reform’.

At the party meeting, second-referendum campaigner Peter Kyle told Mr Corbyn: ‘Jeremy, I urge you to simplify our policy so people realise we are talking with absolute sincerity.’

Brexiteer John Mann said: ‘ We are losing votes in the North and Midlands. If you cannot get this right, you cannot be Prime Minister.

‘There should be free votes for Labour in this Parliament. Labour voters are divided in a very big way.’

Wes Streeting told Mr Corbyn: ‘ We need clear leadership in order to win the next general election.’

In a reference to Labour and the Tories working together on the Stronger In campaign in Scotland, Ian Murray said: ‘If the UK goes the same way as Scotland, if the dam bursts there will be none of us left.’

Steve Doughty said the party’s ad campaign for the european elections was not good enough, adding: ‘Why is the Brexit Party surging? Because they’ve got a clear message... We have four sets of adverts – they have 36 ad streams.’

Mr Corbyn told the MPs: ‘I don’t want to be in a position where our members don’t understand what we are saying, where our voters don’t understand what we are saying. We know we are under attack. I absolutely understand the frustration everyone expressed.’

One Labour MP said the meeting had been ‘absolutely dismal’.

A Labour source said the party’s Brexit position – to respect the 2016 referendum result – had not changed, but at the same time, deputy leader Mr Watson said it wanted to stay in the eU and change it.

he told the BBC: ‘ We are a remain and reform party, but obviously when it comes to a deal, people could form their own view.’

Mr Watson also joined Shadow Brexit

We are a remain and reform party, but obviously when it comes to a deal, people could form their own view Tom Watson yesterday

Secretary Sir Keir Starmer in saying a second referendum is the only way to break the deadlock.

But a Labour shadow minister said there was ‘ an element of leadership’ ambitions motivating the two men’s actions. Many of the party’s members, who will pick the next leader, support a second referendum even though it is unpopular with many of its MPs who represent Leave-supporting areas.

The shadow minister told the Mail: ‘The zealots are getting carried away – they are not thinking.’

Separately, Labour MP Jo Platt said the calls by Sir Keir and Mr Watson were ‘not helpful’ in areas such as her Leigh constituency in the North West. She told the BBC: ‘There is no appetite whatsoever here for another referendum. People are angry – they are annoyed that it has not been sorted already.

‘If you go back to the election and the manifesto, it clearly stated we would respect the referendum. I knocked on doors where I had to point to the page to say, “look, it is in our manifesto”. I now have to go back to those people to explain what our message is.’

‘Labour voters are divided in a big way’