Former minister quits Labour saying party has been ‘destroyed’ under Corbyn’s leadership

Bridget Prentice accuses Labour leader of failing to stand up to antisemitic ‘bigots’ and of ‘complete ignorance’ on Brexit

‘In all the major issues of the day, you have called it wrong,’ the former justice minister said of Jeremy Corbyn (PA)

A former minister has quit Labour with a furious attack on Jeremy Corbyn, warning the party has been “destroyed” under his leadership.

Bridget Prentice accused Mr Corbyn of failing to stand up to antisemitic “bigots and bullies” and of “complete ignorance” about the damage to come from Brexit.

“In all the major issues of the day, you have called it wrong,” the former justice minister wrote, in her resignation letter to Labour’s general secretary.

The walkout follows a similar protest and resignation by Tony Robinson, the actor, and the defections of eight Labour MPs to the new Independent Group, now known as Change UK.

In her letter, Ms Prentice said Labour no longer had “the values, aspiration or vision that led me to join it”, 45 years ago.

She wrote: “I have watched in horror as Jewish members have begged for support against the growth of antisemitism both within and out the party.

“Mealy-mouth words have replaced what should have been strong and determined condemnation of the bigots and bullies.

“Even when complaints were upheld, the punishment was often no more than a slap on the wrist. For a pregnant woman MP [Luciana Berger] to be bullied out of the party is shameful and embarrassing.”

On Brexit, Ms Prentice said of Mr Corbyn that “in his limited thinking, Europe is ‘a bad thing’, apparently completely ignorant of the benefits it has brought to working people”.

“To use European workers as a cause of lower wages is as disgraceful as it is pandering to the baser views of racists.”

Mr Corbyn’s claim that the local election results showed the public telling the major parties to deliver Brexit “would be laughable were it not so palpably wrong and pathetic”.

“The damage to this country and most importantly to the poorest, the most vulnerable, the dispossessed, the underclass – all those that the Labour Party was born to protect – will be devastating,” Ms Prentice added.

The MP for Lewisham East from 1992 to 2010 also tore into “the Corbyn cult”, saying: “Anyone questioning the leadership’s position is vilified, complaints sent in to the disciplinary panel like something out of a North Korean rule book”.

A Labour spokesman said: “It is disappointing that Bridget Prentice has left the party but many claims in her letter are plainly untrue.

“Labour’s bold and popular policies under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership have changed the political conversation in this country and exposed the devastation caused by the Tories’ austerity agenda.

“The Labour Party is absolutely committed to challenging and campaigning against antisemitism in all its forms and wherever it occurs.”

Party sources suggested Ms Prentice was “aggrieved” that she was not re-nominated to serve as Labour’s representative to the Electoral Commission.