LABOUR activists yesterday accused former policy chief Jon Cruddas of asking “leading questions” after he claimed the party lost the election because it opposed austerity.

Mr Cruddas, who is leading an inquiry into Labour’s election loss, said new polling proved the public rejected his party because they saw slashing the deficit as the top priority.

Party rightwingers jumped on the findings to call for Labour to reject anti-austerity leadership contender Jeremy Corbyn — but others questioned Mr Cruddas’s conclusions.