Sir Keir Starmer has suspended at least three Labour MPs as he seeks to reassert his authority after a series of damaging backbench rebellions.
The MPs are thought to have lost the party whip over “persistent breaches of party discipline”.
The move comes as MPs depart Westminster for the summer early next week and follows speculation some Labour MPs could have been in talks to join a new party being set up by ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.
The Independent understands that rebel leader Rachael Maskell, along with Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliffe and Neil Duncan-Jordan have been called in to see the chief whip over the recent revolt over welfare reforms. They are expected to have had the whip suspended.
Sir Keir suffered a serious blow earlier this month when dozens of his own MPs voted against his planned welfare cuts in Parliament.
The prime minister had been forced into two humiliating U-turns on the legislation in less than a week to head off a revolt that threatened to defeat his government on one of its flagship policies.
Despite the climbdowns, the revolt was still the largest backbench rebellion Starmer has suffered so far.
The previous record holder was earlier this month during the passage of the planning and infrastructure bill, when 16 MPs rebelled.
A revolt last year, over the controversial two-child benefit cap, saw a number of Labour MPs stripped of the party whip – including Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell.
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