Claims that Diane Abbott, a close ally of the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is angling to become the Chief Whip have been denied by the party.
She was said to be aiming to oust Rosie Winterton from the job of enforcing discipline on the Labour benches. Ms Winterton, who held the same post under Ed Miliband, has been under pressure following speculation she could be replaced by Mr Corbyn. She has fallen foul of Corbyn loyalists after abstaining in the recent vote on whether to bomb Isis targets in Syria.
Ms Winterton was loudly applauded last week when she declared at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party that “there should be no political consequences” for any MP following the vote.
The Mail on Sunday reported Ms Abbott, the shadow International Development Secretary, has been manoeuvring for the post. But a spokeswoman for Ms Abbott said she was very happy and did not want it.
