Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Mike Gapes, Gavin Shuker, Anne Coffey have all resigned from the Labour Party.

A few minutes ago the Labour split which has been somehow imminent for a very long time, finally happened. Under the banner of ‘The Independent Group’, the MPs spoke at a packed press conference at County Hall over the river from parliament.

Berger said Labour had been consumed by a culture of “bullying, bigotry and intimidation”. Leslie hit out at Corbyn's Brexit position and said the party had now been "hijacked by the machine politics of the hard left". Gapes said Corbyn would “threaten our security” were he ever to become prime minister.

Speaking last, Umunna, invited other MPs from all parties to join the new gang. "It is time we dumped this country’s old fashioned politics and created an alternative that does justice to who we are today," he said.

In a joint statement the seven MPs said:

"Our primary duty as Members of Parliament is to put the best interests of our constituents and our country first. Yet like so many others, we believe that none of today's political parties are fit to provide the leadership and direction needed by our country. Our aim is to pursue policies that are evidence-based, not led by ideology, taking a long-term perspective to the challenges of the 21st century in the national interest, rather than locked in the old politics of the 20th century in the party's interests. As an Independent Group we aim to recognise the value of healthy debate, show tolerance towards different opinions and seek to reach across outdated divides and build consensus to tackle Britain's problems."

Jeremy Corbyn, asked on his doorstep about the impending breakaway this morning told reporters: “Good morning, how nice it is to see you all here.” In a statement after the announcement, the Labour leader said he was "disappointed that these MPs have felt unable to continue to work together for the Labour policies that inspired millions at the last election and saw us increase our vote by the largest share since 1945".

As MPs loyal to Corbyn circulated a loyalty pledge online yesterday, John McDonnell said he did not see “any need for anybody to split from the party”. Speaking on the Andrew Marr Show, the shadow chancellor warned it “would be like the 1980s” when the creation of the SDP “installed Mrs Thatcher in power”.

Margaret Beckett, a one-time Labour interim-leader, warned a split would be a “big mistake”. And Caroline Flint last week told HuffPost that Labour MPs considering quitting the party would be “responsible for ensuring Tory governments”.

Len McCluskey meanwhile, was a tad blunter. He told 5 Live’s Pienaar’s Politics: “If you are going to leave, for God’s sake get on with it and stop pestering us through the media and through the TV, and let the rest of us fight for a better Britain or stay and help us." Now they have.