AN EMAIL plot to oust Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock from his seat has been uncovered in a number of secret messages.

Emails, seen exclusively by The Mail, show The Barrow and Furness Constituency Labour Party (CLP) contacted senior party officials over the possibility of selecting a new MP.

In an email to Jennie Formby, general secretary of the Labour Party, the CLP asked permission to start the process to get rid of Mr Woodcock, in favour of a candidate they could endorse with confidence.

The email read: "The EC (executive committee) of the CLP would like the permission of the NEC (National Executive Committee) to start a selection process for a replacement candidate for the next election, as they feel that JZW's comments about possibly resigning from the Labour whip rule him out as a future candidate."

This refers to speculation in March this year Mr Woodcock was considering resigning from the Labour Party over disagreements between himself and its leadership.

He said: "“I’m really saddened because yes of course we’ve had our disagreements but I was always willing to work with everyone in the Labour Party for the people of Barrow.

"Given how much we’ve been through over the years, I would have thought they would have been up-front about any desire for change and involved local people in the usual way rather than going behind everyone’s back.

"It is sad to learn that the people running the local Labour Party have been secretly trying to ban me from re-standing as your MP rather than letting local voters themselves decide.

"I was elected to put the people of Barrow first and that is what I will continue to do, no matter how many would rather I just kept my head down and toed the line."

Another heavily redacted email which was sent on May 3 last year to the former general secretary of the party Iain McNicol, among others, read: "We need to find a way to deal with John Woodcock."

The Barrow and Furness CLP was contacted by The Mail for comment but did not get back before we went to print.