Tom Watson condemns 'spiteful' decision to expel Alastair Campbell from Labour Party

Calls for ‘amnesty for members who voted a different way’ in European parliament elections

Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, has condemned the “spiteful” decision to expel Alastair Campbell for voting Liberal Democrat amid a backlash from party members.

Mr Watson called for an “amnesty for members who voted a different way” during the recent European parliament elections, as the row grew over the decision to kick Tony Blair’s former spin doctor out of the party.

His comments sparked further tensions, with a member of Labour’s ruling body accusing him of twisting party rules to help his allies.

Lara McNeill, a youth representative on Labour’s National Executive Committee, posted on Twitter: “Tom Watson has consistently and deliberately miscommunicated party rules to undermine us tackling complaints yet conveniently becomes very well versed and interested in these party rules when it comes to his mates.”

It comes as Jeremy Corbyn faced a mutiny from former ministers, who are daring him to expel them from Labour in an act of solidarity with Mr Campbell.

Charles Clarke, the former home secretary, led the revolt – announcing he also voted Liberal Democrat in a Brexit protest at last week’s European elections, in breach of party rules.

He was swiftly followed by Bob Ainsworth and Fiona Mactaggart, who invoked the famous slave revolt against the Romans by saying it was “time for all of us to declare ‘I am Spartacus’”.

The tactic piled pressure on the Labour leader to show similar ruthlessness, but at the risk of fuelling the anger of huge numbers of members who deserted the party to demand a Final Say referendum.

There are signs that Mr Corbyn is preparing to back down, as his office refused to say the trio would be expelled – despite acting swiftly to remove Mr Campbell.

Labour rules say expulsion is automatic for any member “who joins and/or supports a political organisation other than an official Labour group or other unit of the party”.

Mr Clarke, a cabinet heavyweight under Mr Blair, called for Mr Campbell to be reinstated immediately, calling his removal a “disgrace” that “only compounds Labour’s current political difficulties”.

“I also voted Liberal Democrat. This was a one-off decision because of the hopeless incoherence of Labour’s position, particularly that of Jeremy Corbyn, on Brexit,” he said.

“I have been a Labour Party member for 47 years and have never before voted anything but Labour. I was chair of the Labour Party in 2001-2.

“I have consistently argued against those who, often in understandable despair at the Labour leadership’s abandonment of Labour’s fundamental values, have either resigned from the Labour Party or joined another party.”

Mr Ainsworth, a defence secretary under Gordon Brown’s government, followed suit, revealing he had backed the pro-second referendum Greens last week.

“Having recently voted Labour in local elections, I voted Green in the Euro elections having never voted other than Labour before in my entire life,” he told BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.

“I didn’t intend to make this public, but now Alastair has been expelled for doing the same I feel obliged to do so.”

Charlie Falconer, another former cabinet minister who probed Labour’s handling of antisemitism, said it was “inconceivable” that the decision was not taken “high up the chain” in the party.

Asked about the protest, the Labour Party insisted it did not “comment on individual memberships”. It appeared they might be dealt with less harshly because their comments – unlike Mr Campbell’s – were not made on TV.