Wes Streeting has been told by a fellow remain-backing Labour MP that he cannot reverse Brexit.

17.4 million Brits backed the Leave campaign, beating Remain in what was called a once-in-a-generation vote on Britain's pace in Europe.

Now Mr Streeting has been told by one of his own former Cabinet colleagues that he must not seek to unpick the largest democratic vote in British history.

Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, warned the Labour leadership hopeful Mr Streeting away from "turning back the clock" after he made calls to head back into the EU.

She added: "Some people think we shouldn’t talk to our European neighbours, other people think we should be turning back the clock. We can’t turn back the clock."

Mr Streeting has pledged to challenge Sir Keir Starmer for the leadership of the Labour Party after the Makerfield by-election concludes.

The Ealing MP called Brexit a "catastrophic mistake" as he vowed to "one day" undo the decision.

It led to Mr Streeting locking horns with his former boss, Sir Keir, who has long insisted he will stick to the manifesto commitment to not to rejoin the EU, the customs union or the single market in the current Parliament.

But the government's own top EU negotiator, Nick Thomas-Symonds, admitted today that the party would consider its position on Brexit after the next election.

Yet speaking to the Sun newspaper whilst on a visit to India, Ms Cooper said that calls to rejoin the bloc are not the "right approach".

She told that paper: "We should be moving forward in new partnerships, working constructively, on issues from outside the EU."

The Foreign Secretary added: "We had those debates, it was done. We had a referendum. We had a whole long debate for several years afterwards. Now, from outside of the EU, we can have good relationships, and we should have good relationships."