Sir Starmer, a human rights specialist and former head of Public Prosecutions and the Crown Prosecution Service, yesterday published on Twitter the letter he sent to Jeremy Corbyn resigning as shadow immigration minister. In it, he described the referendum result as ‘catastrophic’ for the UK and the next generation, adding that ‘we now face a very different future.’

‘We need a much louder voice’

He went on to say that ‘it is clear we need a much louder voice on the critical issues of renegotiating the UK’s place in the world and mitigating the damaging impact of our exit from the EU. … It is simply untenable now to suggest that we can offer an effective opposition without a change of leader.’

Corbyn’s ‘comrade’ quits

Meanwhile, shadow justice minister Andy Slaughter has also resigned - after declining the offer of a role in the shadow cabinet. The BBC reports that Mr Slaughter's resignation differs from the others, because he describes himself as a ‘comrade’ of Mr Corbyn and decided to resign only after consulting his local party activists, who agreed.