John McDonnell lost the Labour whip after voting to axe the two-child benefit cap (Image: Getty)
FORMER Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell can expect opposition from ex-colleagues if he seeks the return of the Labour whip.
Labour MPs are understood to have written to the Chief Whip raising concerns about the high-profile Left-winger who was by Jeremy Corbyn’s side in the run-up to the 2019 election.
Mr McDonnell lost the Labour whip just weeks after the party won power after 14 years in Opposition. He was one of seven MPs who were suspended after voting against the Government to scrap the two-child benefit cap.
The 73-year-old MP was in the headlines again this month when he was voluntarily interviewed under caution by police following his attendance at a pro-Palestinian protest in central London.
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He was among thousands who took part in a static protest in Whitehall after police blocked plans to hold a march from Portland Place, near the headquarters of the . Protest organisers denied there was a “coordinated effort” to breach conditions on the march.
Mr McDonnell and Mr Corbyn, 75, voluntarily attended a police station last Sunday.
A letter circulated among Labour MPs calls on the party to “demonstrate clear leadership” in supporting public order. It urges Chief Whip Alan Campbell to take into account the recent events when considering at Mr McDonnell’s “status” in the party.
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Mr McDonnell has denied forcing his way through the police line at the protest. He said online the police allowed him to pass through and that he was “part of a procession of speakers” who wanted to “lay flowers commemorating the death of Palestinian children”.
Mr McDonnell and the Labour party were invited to comment.