DIANE Abbott has insisted Labour is "committed to honouring" the Brexit vote despite backbench warnings that it will "damage" the communities they represent.
The Shadow Home Secretary said her party campaigned in 2016 on "remain and reform" of the EU and pushed for a "jobs-first Brexit" at the 2017 General Election.
Her remarks followed those of Richard Leonard, the Scottish Labour leader, who this morning refused to confirm whether or not Labour would campaign for or against Brexit in any potential general election.
Asked about the party’s stance, he replied: "It's not a matter of campaigning for or against Brexit.”
He pointed out the party’s policy “so far” had been to get the best Brexit deal for Britain but that what would be in any election manifesto would be “decided by the Labour Party and we've got a process for determining that”.
During the third day of the resumed Commons debate on Theresa May’s Brexit Plan, Ms Abbott maintained Labour's opposition to it, arguing that it treated issues of safety and security with a "degree of recklessness".
Her remarks came the day after Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, labelled Labour's Brexit policy "bollocks".
The Shadow Home Secretary told MPs: "I want to stress for Members on this side of the House that we are committed to honouring the referendum vote, and more than that we understand what moved so many millions of our fellow citizens to vote for Brexit."
Her Labour colleague Mike Gapes intervened to ask: "She says we are committed to honouring the referendum vote; does she mean we will support Brexit even if it damages the very communities that we as Labour Members of Parliament represent?"
To laughter Ms Abbott replied: "I'd like to thank my honourable friend for his helpful intervention.”
She went on to explained: “The position of the Labour Party was set out in the manifesto which both he and I campaigned on. We are committed to a jobs-first Brexit, which will not harm our economy. But I repeat, we want to honour the referendum vote.”
Opening the debate, Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, told MPs that EU citizens resident in the UK would be able to continue to live their lives "much as they do now" post-Brexit.
He said: "We value their significant contribution to the UK and whatever happens, as we said many times before, we want them to stay. We know how important our EU friends are to our economy, to our society, to our families, to our history and also to our future."
He added: "Our message to EU citizens throughout is clear: deal or no deal, we want you to stay."
The Home Secretary also told MPs that trials of the EU settlement scheme had "all gone well so far" and said the scheme was necessary to ensure "rights are protected".
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