Owen Smith sacked by Jeremy Corbyn from Labour frontbench after calling for another Brexit referendum

Owen Smith has been sacked as Labour’s Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary with immediate effect after he advocated a new referendum on the final Brexit deal.

The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn made the decision on Friday evening after Mr Smith broke ranks with the frontbench and also urged his party to remain in the single market to avoid a hard border in Ireland.

He has been replaced by Tony Lloyd, the MP for Rochdale and shadow housing minister, who Mr Corbyn said is a “highly experienced” former government minister committed to ensuring “that peace in Northern Ireland is maintained and helping to steer the devolution deal back on track”.

Mr Smith wrote on his Twitter account: “Just been sacked by Jeremy Corbyn for my long held views on the damage Brexit will do to the Good Friday Agreement and the economy of the entire UK.”

It comes after Mr Smith, who challenged Mr Corbyn unsuccessfully for the Labour leadership in the summer of 2016, urged his party in a Guardian article to consider “if Brexit remains the right choice for the country” and to offer a vote to the public once negotiations have concluded.

Mr Smith added that the only way to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland was to remain in the single market and the customs union, an issue at the heart of the Brexit debate.

In an apparent message to Mr Corbyn, he continued: “Those views are shared by Labour members and supporters and I will continue to speak for them, and in the interest of our country.”

Mr Smith’s intervention came after Jonathan Powell, one of the architects of the Good Friday Agreement, issued a similar call in The Independent for Mr Corbyn to support the UK staying in the single market to protect the Irish border.

Sources close to the Labour leader told The Independent that Mr Smith had acted in a similar way to a “backbencher not a frontbencher” by authoring an article that conflicted with the frontbench position.

One source added: “Jeremy brought Owen back into the Shadow Cabinet after the leadership election, but he wasn’t a team player. Real shame. This is about collective responsibility and respect for Shadow Cabinet colleagues.”

A source close to Mr Smith added that the MP acted independently and did not follow the normal processes when submitting the article to The Guardian. They added: “I didn’t know about the article – and I work for him.”

But MPs and other figures in the party reacted critically to the decision by the Labour leader, with the former Labour cabinet minister Lord Hain accusing Mr Corbyn of a “terrible Stalinist purge”.

He added: “Owen Smith has been doing a terrific job on Northern Ireland, he’s ideal for the role with his experience, expertise and considerable ability. Widely respected. In a Shadow Cabinet with a few big hitters he was definitely one.”

Former Shadow Health Secretary Heidi Alexander said Mr Smith “deserves our respect and unequivocal support”, adding that Mr Corbyn knew his views on the EU when he appointed him.