Sir Tony Blair stopped Angela Rayner from quitting the Cabinet in a row over Labour's housebuilding target, it has been claimed. The former prime minister intervened and persuaded the Deputy PM and Housing Secretary to stay on in a sign of how "important" he is to Sir Keir Starmer, according to the updated biography of Sir Keir Starmer by Lord Ashcroft.

The claims in the book by the Tory peer, titled Red Flag, come as experts have warned that Labour will fail in its manifesto pledge to build 1.5 million new homes by the end of this parliament.

The book says: “She is still prone to stirring up trouble… [on] one occasion she threatened to resign because she felt she’d been set the impossible target of Labour building 1.5 million new homes.

"It took a call from Tony Blair to talk her down — which, incidentally, tells you how important Blair is to the Starmer project.”

But a source close to Ms Rayner said they "do not recognise the claims made".

They added: "Angela is proud to be serving as deputy prime minister in Keir’s Cabinet and delivering on Labour’s crystal-clear commitment to build 1.5 million homes as part of our plan for change.”

Ms Rayner earlier this year insisted there are "no excuses" not to build the 1.5 million new homes Labour promised in its manifesto.

The Government has pledged to meet the house-building target in England by 2029.