Labour MPs from west London have found their names on a list drawn up based on their supposed loyalty to leader Jeremy Corbyn.
It was allegedly put together by allies of the opposition leader, although this is denied by Mr Corbyn, and places the party’s MPs into five categories - Core group, core group plus, neutral but not hostile, core group hostile, and hostile group.
The vast majority west London Labour MPs find themselves on the good side of Comrade Corbyn, with his shadow Chancellor John McDonnell unsurprisingly named as one of his staunchest allies.
But the leaked list will make less comfortable reading for Steve Pound (Ealing North) and Gareth Thomas (Harrow East), who feature in the hostile columns.
Surprisingly, Labour mayoral candidate Sadiq Khan, MP for Tooting, also appears in the hostile column of the document.
'Wrong, stupid and does Labour no good'
Mr Pound reacted to being classed as hostile by telling getwestlondon : “This list is wrong, stupid, inaccurate and does the Labour Party no good at all.
"As for hostility, I’m hostile to the Tories and loyal to Labour and I belong to no gangs, groups or cliques.”
Mr Khan’s spokesperson said: “If you are asking if Sadiq is hostile to Jeremy Corbyn the answer is ‘no’. Sadiq is fighting for every vote, Jeremy Corbyn’s name is not on the ballot paper.”
Other MPs who described it as a distraction. Hammersmith MP Andy Slaughter (Core group plus) said: “I don’t know anything about this list. This week I’ve spoken in the Commons on the junior doctors’ dispute, HS2 coming to Old Oak, in defence of Charing Cross Hospital, and on achieving zero emissions to avert climate change.
Read More:Jeremy Corbyn addresses huge audience in Ealing
“I’m also trying to deal with the consequences for my constituents of the Chancellor’s unfair and chaotic budget. I think that better reflects the priorities of people in Hammersmith.”
And Seema Malhotra, MP for Feltham and Heston (Neutral but not hostile), said: “An anonymous list compiled by no one knows who is simply a distraction from a government falling apart so badly that it can’t even make its budget add up.
“The real battle over the last week has been Labour taking the fight to the Tories on the unfairness of the Budget prompting members of Cameron’s own party to the same.
"The proposed cuts to disabled people’s benefits (at the same time as corporation tax is being cut for the largest firms) would have affected over 800 people in Feltham and Heston alone.
“I work with Jeremy Corbyn, the rest of our Shadow Cabinet and our MPs in my work in the Shadow Treasury team every day.
"Whoever put this list together clearly has a lot of time on their hands. Maybe they can now focus on standing up for businesses and families in the May elections.”
Ruth Cadbury, MP for Brentford and Isleworth , said: "This anonymous list may have provided politicos with Westminster gossip but the real story we need to focus on is the governments disastrous budget which has been ripped to shreds by its very own MPs.
"While the Prime Minister may want to shift focus onto the Labour party, we cannot forget that in the past few weeks we have seen chaos in the Conservative party, from the resignation of their work and pensions secretary to rebellions from Tory backbench MPs. This is a party in disarray.
"Here in Brentford and Isleworth we would have had around 700 people affected by this pernicious Tory cut and that is the real story, not a list which may or may not have been written by someone in the Labour party."
'Leader's office not involved'
Labour chief whip, Rosie Winterton MP, has since written to Labour MPs to distance leader Jeremy Corbyn from the list.
She wrote: "I have had a discussion today with Jeremy about the recent reports in the media about the emergence of a list relating to the PLP.
"I know there were concerns about this and Jeremy has assured me the Leader's office was not involved in the production of the list and that what is on the list is not a reflection of his views or those of his office.
"Jeremy is keen to ensure that his leadership is inclusive and reflective of the broad range of views represented in the party and that we unify around our common goal of fighting not only the forthcoming elections but also winning the European referendum to keep us in Europe."
Where Labour's west London MPs sit on the Corbyn list
| Core group (least hostile) | John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington) |
| Core group plus | Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) |
| Neutral but not hostile | Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) |
| Core group hostile | Steve Pound (Ealing North) |
| Hostile group | No west London Labour MPs listed |
