Jeremy Corbyn has apologised for the chaos surrounding the launch of his new left-wing political party following an extraordinary bust up with his co-leader Zarah Sultana.
The Islington North MP admitted "we haven't covered ourselves in glory" following the bitter feud at the heart of “Your Party”, as he relaunched the fledgling group's membership portal.
Mr Corbyn last week threatened Ms Sultana with legal action after an email was sent out to supporters of the party asking them to pay between £25 and £55 to become members, with Ms Sultana claiming 20,000 people had signed up.
The former Labour leader sent out a statement warning supporters to ignore the “unauthorised email”, while Ms Sultana accused her fellow independent alliance MPs of creating a “sexist boys’ club” and claimed she had been “effectively frozen out”.
Mr Corbyn on Wednesday said he was sorry for "the confusion in getting to this point", urging supporters to "move on" and sign up as founding members ahead of the party's inaugural conference in November.
The former Labour leader launched an "official" membership portal for the party.
In a video message, he said: "We've had some fraught days in the last week, as you will no doubt be very aware. And to be honest, we haven't covered ourselves in glory.
"But what is most important is this: We all agree about the plans for the conference and the road map to get to it.
"Before all the commotion last week, the plans themselves were warmly welcomed right across our movement.
"People desperately want the chance for a real alternative, an alternative to poverty, to war and injustice.
"So let's get on with it. Today you can turn your support into real membership. Our official membership portal is now open."
He continued: "To all our supporters, I'm sorry for the confusion in getting to this point. Together, all of us, let's move on to the next stage."
Mr Corbyn also promised that "your data, your membership payments, will be secure".
Several hours after the launch, Ms Sultana posted on X: “I’m a member of Your Party - and if you haven’t joined yet, you should too. I’ll remain a fierce advocate for the grassroots – and will continue to fight hard for maximum member democracy.
“For those who joined the previous system: data and membership will be migrated across in due course. We have a world to win. Let’s get to work!”
The veteran left-winger last week told people to cancel any direct debits set up in response to Ms Sultana's membership drive, and Your Party referred itself to the UK's data protection watchdog after data was collected and payments taken.
The party on Wednesday announced its founding conference will be held in Liverpool on November 29 and 30.
Your Party, which is made up of independent MPs Ms Sultana, Mr Corbyn, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, Shockat Adam and Iqbal Mohamed, is yet to decide on an official name. It is seen as a potential challenger to Labour, Reform UK and the Green Party.
