LABOUR has been accused of wanting to "turn the clock back two years" and rerun the 2016 EU referendum after frontbencher Sir Keir Starmer suggested his party could, in certain circumstances, back another vote.

The Shadow Brexit Secretary said “all options...ought to be on the table” if the UK Government’s Brexit plan were rejected by MPs and there was a prospect of a no deal.

But this appeared to cause a Shadow Cabinet rift as his colleague Barry Gardiner, the Shadow International Trade Secretary, came out against a so-called People’s Vote, saying it would “undermine” democratic accountability.

Sir Keir pointed out how his party’s approach thus far had been one of not calling for a second EU vote but concentrating on Westminster getting a “meaningful vote” on the final proposed deal with Brussels.

However, appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Sir Keir left the door open to Labour backing a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal.

He explained: “Should the Article 50 deal that the Prime Minister brings back be voted down or worse there’s no deal, then that’s a very serious situation and we’re going to have to confront it when we get there and that parliament must decide what happens next.

“In those circumstances, it seems to me the sensible thing is to keep all our options on the table.”

When it was pointed out how the Labour frontbencher had recently told a private meeting with business that faced with Parliament rejecting the final deal, then Labour would conclude that “this might involve a General Election or a People’s Vote,” Sir Keir replied: “Well, in the event that Article 50 is voted down, or there’s no deal, that’s a serious situation.

“Parliament should decide what happens next and at that stage there could be a General Election, there could be other options; but all options, it seems to me, ought to be on the table because that’s a situation we have to avoid at all costs.”

Later, however, Mr Gardiner suggested voters might consider a second referendum on Brexit as patronising, which could harm Labour’s electoral chances.

"I don’t believe on a point of principle that we should undermine that democratic accountability," he told the BBC's Sunday Politics.

“If we do, politics and politicians in this country will bear an enormous price. We will have turned around, patted people on the head and said: There, there, you got it wrong but don’t worry we’ll fix it'."

The Scot added: "We have business that has been calling out for two years for clarity, for certainty…If we then say we are going to take the decision all over again, that is thrown into the future."

In response, Brandon Lewis, the Tory Chairman, said: “This weekend the Government agreed a position to negotiate a good deal with the EU.

“And what do we get from Labour? They’ve confirmed they’re leaving the door open to re-running the referendum. We’re moving forward, and they want to turn the clock back two years,” he added.