There is "no case for rejoining" the European Union, Keir Starmer has declared.
The Labour leader flew straight into a battle with the SNP and many Labour remain supporters on Monday by insisting there is no chance of the UK reversing the Brexit referendum vote.
Starmer claimed that Labour now accepted the result of the 2016 referendum and would not seek to overturn it if he becomes Prime Minister.
He said: “We have exited the EU and we are not going back - let me be very clear in the north east about that. There is no case for rejoining.”
“What I want to see now is not just Brexit done in the sense that we’re technically out of the EU, I want to make it work. I want to make sure we take advantage of the opportunities and we have a clear plan for Brexit.”
The comments which are designed to appeal to north of England constituencies previously held by Labour that backed Brexit will infuriate many in his party that still hold onto the European ideal.
They provoked an immediate reaction from the SNP’s Ian Blackford who declared that independence was now the only route back into the EU for Scotland.
The SNP Westminster leader tweeted: “ Starmer confirms a UK Labour govt would continue to impose Brexit on Scotland, despite billions lost in long-term damage. Independence is the only way for Scotland to regain our place in Europe.”
Starmer previously backed a demands for a second referendum and was in charge of Labour’s abandoned plans for a second vote.
The Labour leader also confirmed that he has received death threats after Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s false claim that he failed to prosecute paedophile Jimmy Savile.
It was reported over the weekend that police have launched an investigation into online threats made against the Labour leader.
Asked if he has received such threats in the wake of Johnson’s comments, Starmer said: “Yes. I do not like talking about this because I have got young children.”
He told BBC Radio Newcastle: “It’s very important for me to say that what the Prime Minister said was wrong, it was very wrong. He knew exactly what he was doing."
“There has been a right-wing conspiracy theory for some time that’s a complete fabrication.
“He fed into that, and that has caused difficulty, but my preference, if I may, is not to talk about that because, as I say, I have got young children and I don’t particularly want them to hear too much of what may or may not be said about me.”
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