Labour Reject Civil Service Concerns Over Jeremy Corbyn's "Frail" Health

29 June 2019, 09:06 | Updated: 29 June 2019, 09:15

The Labour Party has rejected claims Jeremy Corbyn is 'too frail' to become Prime Minister, after reports senior civil servants warn he may be forced to stand down because he is not up to the job "physically or mentally".

A Labour spokesperson said Jeremy Corbyn "leads an active life" and is "in good health" after The Times reported senior civil servants feared he had become "too frail and is losing his memory".

"Reports to the contrary are scurrilous and a transparent attempt to undermine Labour's efforts to redistribute wealth and power from the few to the many," they said.

But the future of the Labour leader was questioned by senior civil servants who say Mr Corbyn "isn't up to the job physically or mentally" and is "being propped up" by those around him.

One senior civil servant told The Times: "When does someone say [he] is too ill to carry on a leader of the Labour Party let alone Prime Minister?

"There must be senior people in the party who know that he is not functioning on all cylinders."

Another said: "There is a real worry that the Labour leader isn't up to the job physically or mentally but is being propped up by those around him.

"There's growing concern that he's too frail and is losing his memory.

"He's not in charge of his own party."

It has also been reported that Mr Corbyn could be replaced by Labour's shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long Bailey in the autumn.

But a Labour Party spokesperson said reports about Mr Corbyn's health were a "scurrilous and a transparent attempt to undermine Labour's efforts to redistribute wealth and power.

"Jeremy Corbyn takes his own decisions and has repeatedly and publicly backed a referendum on any Brexit deal."