SOCIALIST Labour MPs are reluctant to criticise Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership for fear of being “purged” from the party, members of the Socialist Campaign Group alleged today.

Some left-wing candidates have been blocked from standing as Labour candidates at the next election amid reports of a clampdown on supporters of ex-leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was thrown out of the parliamentary party in 2020.

Socialist Campaign Group members told the Telegraph newspaper that they were reluctant to go public with their concerns over Sir Keir’s leadership for fear of suffering the same fate.

One spoke of a “huge purge,” saying: “It’s an awful, awful atmosphere. Starmer says the party is united, but I’ve never known the party more disunited.

“People are frightened to say things because they think they might be next — it’s a terrible situation.

“They’re just waiting for anyone in the Socialist Campaign Group to make one wrong move and they’ll find a reason to deselect them.”

The charge follows Ilford South MP Sam Tarry, a supporter of Mr Corbyn, becoming the first Labour parliamentarian in a decade to be deselected as a candidate for the next election after party members voted last month against him standing again.

He had previously been dismissed from the front bench by Sir Keir for attending a picket line alongside striking rail workers and “giving unauthorised broadcast interviews.”

Mr Tarry said he was “extremely concerned” about the result, amid accusations of vote rigging. 

Former Labour MP Emma Dent Coad, who was blocked in October from standing in Kensington again, said that a fair contest had been “sacrificed for the sake of factional intrigue from Labour officials.”

A councillor, Lauren Townsend, was rejected as a parliamentary candidate after she “liked” a tweet by SNP First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, while another, Maurice Mcleod, said that his “liking” a tweet by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas had been used to prevent him standing.

The backlash has been extended to ordinary Labour members, with thousands being forced out of the party since Sir Keir became leader in April 2020.

The former shadow Brexit secretary claimed at Labour’s annual conference in September that he had “changed the party to make sure we're in tune with the instincts and aspirations of the British people once again.”

A party source told the Telegraph: “It’s right that Labour expects prospective MPs to uphold the highest standards — under Keir’s leadership, that’s not going to change.”