John McDonnell has contacted Ken Loach after being confronted by Labour colleagues about allegations that the award-winning filmmaker described the party’s MPs as a tiny clique who had behaved disgracefully.
A spokesman for McDonnell said: “John has spoken with Mr Loach directly after the meeting, just as he said he would.
“The campaign against ESA cuts has been extremely successful in raising awareness to the severity of the issue thanks to the support of individuals like Ken Loach.
Ken confirmed to him that he only repeated his view that it was wrong when MPs had sought to undermine Jeremy’s leadership during the summer.