Jeremy Corbyn will tell Labour MPs to vote to trigger Article 50

Jeremy Corbyn - PA

Jeremy Corbyn will tell Labour MPs to vote in favour of triggering Article 50 to set the clock ticking on the UK leaving the European Union, according to comments he made during a television interview.

Speaking to Sky News, the Labour leader said his MPs would be “asked to vote” in favour of the likely bill when it comes before the Commons.

The comment comes after a report in The Guardian this morning said four Shadow Cabinet members and several more frontbenchers were considering opposing the Government’s bill, if the Supreme Court next week rules that Parliament must be consulted.

RELATED CONTENT

Theresa May says people looking for more Brexit detail 'will not be acting in the national interest'

EXCLUSIVE: RBS looks to EU banking licenses amid Brexit uncertainty

Previously Labour had said it would only support the triggering of Article 50 if protection of jobs and rights were guaranteed.

But today he said that Labour would not try to thwart the process of leaving the EU.

“It’s very clear: the referendum made a decision that Britain was to leave the European Union,” he told Sky News.  

“It wasn’t to destroy jobs or living standards or communities but it was to leave the European Union and have a different relationship in the future.

"I’ve made it very clear: the Labour party accepts and respects the decision of the British people. We will not block Article 50.”

Asked whether that meant he was prepared to impose a three-line whip, he said: “It means that all Labour MPs will be asked to vote in that direction next week or whenever the vote comes up.”

The Conservatives seized on today’s report to criticise the opposition for uncertainty.

Former minister Dominic Raab, who now sits on the Brexit Select Committee, said: “Labour backed the EU referendum that put the decision on UK membership of the EU in the hands of the British people.

“It's unbelievable that members of Jeremy Corbyn's top team are now plotting to vote to ignore the result if they get the chance.

“The Prime Minister has set out a comprehensive plan to build a global Britain as we exit the EU that has commanded wide support. Labour is too divided and incompetent even to agree to respect the decision people have already made.”

But Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron, who wants Britain to remain in the EU, blasted Labour for "helping" the Conservatives implement Brexit.

“Labour’s claim to be the Official Opposition must break the Trade Descriptions Act," he said.

Nicola Sturgeon has said she can't foresee any circumstances in which the SNP would to vote to trigger Article 50.

A vote will only happen if the Supreme Court rules against the UK Government on Tuesday, in an appeal of a ruling by the High Court that parliament should be consulted.