Greater clarity needed on Labour's Brexit position, says Richard Leonard

Labour needs to be “much clearer” on Brexit, according to Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard.

Speaking to the BBC, Leonard argued there should be a second referendum, with the party backing the option of remaining as part of the EU.

The comments follow calls from members for the party to shift its Brexit policy to an explicitly pro-Remain stance at its annual conference in Brighton.

Leonard said: "The Scottish Labour party took a decision frankly in the wake of the European party election results that we needed to be much clearer, that we needed much greater clarity about the position that we were taking.

"For that reason the Scottish executive of the Labour party backed my proposal that we call for an affirmative vote that any deal should go back to the public; secondly, that on that vote there should be a remain option; and thirdly, that we would campaign unambiguously for remain."

Meanwhile London mayor Sadiq Khan warned Labour had arrived at a "vital crossroads" and cannot sit on the fence on the issue.

"At conference this week, we have the opportunity to come together to define how we seek to deal with the biggest challenge facing our country – Brexit," he wrote in a Facebook post.

"Labour's values of solidarity, social justice and internationalism are clearly best served by remaining in the European Union.

"So I'm making a direct appeal to delegates at Labour conference: do not accept any 'compromise' on Brexit, do not accept a fudge, do not delay us setting out what our stance would be in any future referendum."