Brexit: British opposition leader not resigning

Jeremy Corbyn is due to give a speech in London later on Saturday to set out how the party should move forward

Aides to Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn have denied that he was on the verge of resigning after the country's decision to leave the European Union (EU), BBC reported on Saturday.

Corbyn is due to give a speech in London later on Saturday to set out how the party should move forward.

Two Labour MPs, Margaret Hodge and Ann Coffey have submitted a motion of no confidence against Corbyn to the Parliamentary Labour Party chairman, John Cryer, saying he did not convey a clear EU message.

The motion has no formal constitutional force but calls for a discussion at the party's next meeting on Monday.

The chairman will decide whether it is debated. If accepted, a secret ballot of Labour MPs could be held on Tuesday.

By Friday evening, seven other Labour MPs were on record as backing the motion.

It would take 50 MPs uniting around an alternative candidate to trigger a new leadership contest.

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock has also come out in support of the motion, accusing Corbyn of a "lacklustre" campaign.

An online petition on the website of campaign organisation 38 Degrees calling for "a vote of confidence in Jeremy Corbyn after Brexit" has attracted more than 90,000 signatures.

Labour MP Frank Field - who supported the Leave campaign - said Corbyn "clearly isn't the right person to lead Labour into an election, because nobody thinks he will win".

"We clearly need somebody who the public think of as an alternative prime minister," he told BBC Radio.

He admitted the party lacked an obvious alternative to Corbyn, but said he hoped a potential new leader would emerge in a fresh party leadership contest.

Corbyn won an overwhelming victory in last year's Labour leadership contest, but did not have the backing of most MPs.

The leader was expected to appear at Glastonbury Music Festival this weekend, but organisers said he had pulled out in the wake of the EU referendum result.