Ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been formally blocked from standing as a candidate for the party at the next general election.
Labour's governing body - the National Executive Body - today approved a motion proposed by Keir Starmer not to endorse his predecessor by 22 votes to 12.
It means Mr Corbyn, who has had the whip suspended since 2020, will be unable to stand for Labour in the constituency of Islington North for the first time since 1983.
Mr Starmer's motion says Mr Corbyn "will not be endorsed by the NEC as a candidate on behalf of the Labour Party at the next general election".
It also states the NEC's purpose is to "avoid any detrimental impact on the Labour Party's standing with the electorate" and its "political interests".
Mr Corbyn is sitting in the Commons as an independent after he was suspended over his response to the damning Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report in 2020 which found Labour had broken equalities law.
He is yet to decide whether he will stand as an independent candidate at the next general election - but would face being expelled from Labour if he does so.
Mr Corbyn tonight posted a statement on Twitter saying: “I will not be intimidated into silence
“I have spent my life fighting for a fairer society on behalf of the people of Islington North, and I have no intention of stopping now.”
He claimed Mr Starmer had “launched an assault on the rights of his own Labour members, breaking his pledge to build a united and democratic party that advances social, economic and climate justice”.
Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell - a close ally of the former leader - said: "With election in 18 months we need a united party to win a Labour government.
"This decision will be seen as divisive & brutal, victimising someone who has given his life to our movement. We need a campaign in CLPs & affiliates to reverse this decision."
Just before the vote on Tuesday the left-wing Labour MP Nadia Whittome said: "It should be up to local members in Islington North to decide who represents them.
"The motion to ban Jeremy Corbyn from restanding is divisive, an attack on party democracy and a distraction from the vital task of getting the Tories out. I hope it’s withdrawn or rejected."
The left-wing group Momentum also described it as a "dark day for democracy" in the party.
But Ed Miliband earlier said there is "no mystery" to the background to the NEC meeting.
Mr Miliband, a former leader himself, said he is not a member of the party's ruling body so could not comment in detail.
But he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I'm not privy to exactly what goes on in the National Executive, but I don't think there is any mystery about the background to today's discussion at the National Executive Committee.
"It's about one thing, which is about Jeremy Corbyn's reaction to the EHRC report on antisemitism and his refusal to apologise for that reaction. That is the background of this. I don't think there's any mystery about that.
"Keir Starmer said some weeks ago that he didn't believe Jeremy Corbyn should be a candidate at the election and that is obviously a decision the National Executive will have to make."
