Jeremy Corbyn ‘tended to read from prepared script’ at shadow Cabinet meetings, says former frontbencher

The leader’s office was 'clearly under-staffed and in a bit of a muddle'

Former shadow Cabinet minister Kerry McCarthy has expanded on the reasons behind her resignation (Getty)

Jeremy Corbyn failed to show “any sense” of leadership at shadow Cabinet meetings and often read from a prepared script, a former Labour frontbencher has claimed.

Kerry McCarthy, the former shadow environment secretary, claimed that her concerns about the Labour leader’s abilities “steadily grew” as she attended shadow cabinet meetings where the Labour leader “tended to read from a prepared script, didn’t respond to our questions, and didn’t convey any sense of strategic direction or leadership”.

Ms McCarthy also claims that the shadow environment team had just one meeting with Mr Corbyn.

She now joins several former shadow Cabinet ministers who have provided anecdotal accounts that led to their resignations shortly after the European Union referendum.

In an article for the Huffington Post, the MP for Bristol East said that the leader’s office was “clearly under-staffed and in a bit of a muddle”. Another example given by Ms McCarthy suggests Mr Corbyn failed to understand Article 50, the untested protocol for leaving the EU, on the morning it became clear Britain had voted for Brexit.

She claimed he told a Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) hustings event that “we have two years in which to trigger Article 50”.

“But the two years comes after Article 50 is triggered. It’s how long we have before we actually have to leave the EU. That lack of grasp, when he’d presumably been prepping for such a question, bothers me,” she added.

“It was during the referendum campaign, when the stakes were so high, and at the two-and-half hour shadow Cabinet meeting on June 24 that my growing concern, tinged with exasperation, turned to despair. I felt it would have been self-indulgent and an abdication of responsibility to continue in a job I love, keeping my head down, rather than facing up to what was necessary to give the party a fighting chance of winning a general election.”

The leader’s office declined to comment on Ms McCarthy’s comments when approached by The Independent.