JOHN Woodcock, MP for Barrow and Furness, has been called 'Judas' during a Twitter spat in which he said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was "not the Messiah".

Writing on Twitter on Good Friday, the Barrow MP said: "We can't go on like this - our loyalty should be to the people who desperately need a Labour govt."

He added that "clinging to belief we are on cusp of great breakthrough is unwittingly aiding and abetting the Tories".

The former frontbencher said supporters of the leader branding him "Judas" on Good Friday should realise "Jeremy is not the Messiah".

It comes as senior Labour MPs have criticised the direction party leader Jeremy Corbyn is taking them, with some claiming he had failed to properly tackle David Cameron over the Budget.

Ex-shadow minister Angela Smith said the leader had "managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory" following Iain Duncan Smith's shock resignation from the Cabinet.

Penistone and Stocksbridge MP Ms Smith told The Mirror : "If Corbyn is not prepared to buckle down and show proper leadership he should just go, and give us a chance to get a leader who can properly take on the Tories."

She mocked the leader for addressing the British Kebab Awards despite having failed to so far make a major intervention in the European Union referendum campaign, although Mr Corbyn is expected to make a speech on the subject after Easter.

"No statement of any significance has been made by Corbyn on the big issue of the moment - our membership of the EU," she said.

"And this week he has managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by letting Cameron and Osborne off the hook as far as their disastrous Budget is concerned."

The MP added: "We have a leader who appears more interested in talking about whether it's better to eat falafel, salad or kebabs than anything else."

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