Shadow attorney general quits Corbyn's justice team

Having resigned from the shadow cabinet over concerns about her party's direction, Catherine McKinnell MP is to return to the Labour backbenches.

In her resignation letter to Jeremy Corbyn, the shadow attorney general said that Labour's election defeats in 2010 and 2015 required 'a genuine and profound response' from the party.

'As events have unfolded over recent weeks, my concerns about the direction and internal conflict within the Labour party have only grown, and I fear this is taking us down an increasingly negative path,' she added.

'I feel that I would like to channel my energy constructively, into making positive changes to my constituents.'

The MP for Newcastle North added that the reality of being a member of the shadow cabinet precluded her from speaking out on issues that were important to her constituents but outside her justice brief.

McKinnell has previously raised concerns about corporate criminal liability, serious economic crime, prosecution rates, legal aid, and access to justice.

A solicitor with Newcastle's Dickinson Dees - prior to its merger with Bond Pearce to create Bond Dickinson in May 2013 - McKinnell was elected to parliament in 2010.

McKinnell's cabinet resignation is the fourth since Corbyn's New Year reshuffle.

In an exclusive interview published last week, the shadow justice secretary, Lord Falconer, told SJ that the shadow cabinet was unified in its justice policy agenda.

'It's important for us to recognise that the purpose of a political party is to broadly reach an agreement on an issue and then fight for the principles we agree on,' he said.

'There's no doubt Jeremy won with a large mandate and that's who the party wants. Our obligation, as senior members of the party, is to support Jeremy's leadership and work hard to reach agreement on as many issues as we can.'

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show over the weekend, the former Lord Chancellor during Tony Blair's administration called for a 'period of calm' following the recent spate of resignations.

Update: Labour's Karl Turner appointed as new shadow attorney general.