Veteran MP Nick Brown suspended from Labour Party

Veteran MP Nick Brown has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party, the BBC understands.

He is one of the party's longest-serving MPs but will now sit as an independent MP until reinstated by the party.

The Newcastle upon Tyne East MP told the Guardian he didn't know the nature of the complaint but was co-operating with the investigation.

Mr Brown has served as chief whip under the last five Labour leaders.

His suspension from Labour Party membership will lead to the automatic precautionary suspension from the Parliamentary Labour Party in accordance with party rules.

The BBC has approached Mr Brown for a comment.

Last year, Labour adopted a new complaints process, set up in the wake of controversy over anti-Semitism allegations.

A 2020 Equalities and Human Rights Commission report into how the claims were handled recommended that the party put in place "long-term arrangements for independent oversight of the complaint handling process".

Party members backed creating the new system at its annual conference in 2021.