Labour MPs have hit out at the party's shadow defence secretary Emily Thornberry after she compared Trident to a Second World War Spitfire.

The unilateralist was also accused of repeating "scare stories" about the UK's nuclear deterrent, while urging Labour MPs not to take "entrenched" positions.

The row erupted after Ms Thornberry gave a briefing to Labour MPs on the party's internal defence review.

Former defence minister Kevan Jones denounced her presentation as "waffly and incoherent".

MPs also criticised Ms Thornberry for not mentioning the crunch Commons vote on whether or not to replace Trident, due to take place within months.

Labour sources denied that Ms Thornberry had been heckled during the meeting.

But at one point she was heard telling fellow Labour MPs: "There's no point trying to shout me down".

Afterwards, asked how her presentation had been received, Ms Thornberry replied: “Alright”.

But there was anger that she drew what Labour sources described as an "analogy" between Trident and the Battle of Britain fighter planes which retired in the 1950s.

One MP said: "She compared the most advanced large manufacturing and engineering project in the world to a Spitfire".

A Labour source said that Ms Thornberry had been trying to make a point about the different potential uses of modern technology.

She had told MPs that while the UK no longer has Spitfires, it does have Tornado jets, which were developed during the 1970s but have since been updated.

After the meeting a Labour source suggested that the defence review may not be ready before the party's annual conference this autumn.

Asked if the conclusions wold be discussed there, he replied “hopefully”.

As he left Chris Leslie, the former shadow chancellor of the exchequer, said that he thought Mr Corbyn should attend the meetings.

Labour sources later said that the Labour leader would be present at the next meeting in two weeks time.

Ms Thornberry will also travel to Barrow in the next few weeks to meet workers whose jobs might be affected if Trident was scrapped.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a lifelong campaigner against nuclear weapons, ordered the defence review.

At the weekend, a senior Labour MP indicated that the defence review was unlikely to back Mr Corbyn's idea of sending nuclear missile submarines to sea without warheads.