Jeremy Corbyn has accused the BBC of reporting “fake news” after he was asked about reports he had made plans to quit.
The Labour leader told BBC One’s Breakfast this morning the suggestion he had set a departure date was “absolute nonsense” and something from “I-made-it-up-yesterday.com”.
“I am really surprised the BBC is reporting fake news. There is no news. There is no news,” he said.
Yesterday Corbyn’s team denied a report in the Manchester Evening News that he had made plans with his inner circle about when to step down.
Corbyn said this morning it was “not a disaster” that ally Clive Lewis, who is tipped as a future leader, quit his shadow cabinet after voting against Brexit.
“The majority of Labour MPs voted to trigger Article 50. Fifty-odd voted against it, mainly on the basis of their strong message from their own constituents. My argument is it was a national vote, it was a national referendum, and Parliament has to respect that,” Corbyn said.
Corbyn had ordered his MPs to vote in favour of the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill last night. And the Bill, which will allow Theresa May to trigger Article 50, received its third reading in the Commons by a vote of 494 to 122 - a government majority of 372.
However 52 Labour MPs rebelled and voted against. The list included 13 members of the Labour leader’s shadow frontbench, including three party whips.