RMT activist Eddie Dempsey insisted that “bringing people together to call a general election” should be the left’s priority after two activist journalists pulled out of a rally because of his presence.

Ash Sarkar and Owen Jones said they would no longer speak at Tuesday’s People’s Assembly rally calling for a general election after an attack on Twitter by Pete Radcliff, who was expelled from Labour in 2016 for supporting the Alliance for Workers Liberty.

Mr Radcliff said he could not believe that they would “share a platform with someone like Eddie Dempsey who openly supports No Deal in complete opposition to Labour’s policy.”