Shadow cabinet member Andy McDonald quits in protest at Sir Keir Starmer

Shadow cabinet member Andy McDonald has quit Labour's frontbench with a scathing attack on Sir Keir Starmer.

In his resignation letter, the MP said his party leader had made Labour "more divided than ever".

And Mr McDonald accused Sir Keir of not honouring his pledges to the members.

"I accepted the role because I wanted to fight for the working people of this country," he said. "It has become clear to me that I cannot do this as a member of the shadow cabinet."

Mr McDonald previously served as shadow transport secretary on Jeremy Corbyn's frontbench - but he became one of the few members to survive the handover of power to Sir Keir, and stayed in the top team as shadow secretary for employment rights and protections.

In his letter, the MP claimed the leader's office had instructed him go to a meeting at Labour's party conference and "argue against a national minimum wage of £15 an hour and against statutory sick pay at the living wage".

He said it was "something I could not do", adding: "After many months of a pandemic when we made commitments to stand by key workers, I cannot now look those same workers in the eye and tell them they are not worth a wage that is enough to live on, or that they don't deserve security when they are ill."