Downing Street rejects Jeremy Corbyn's call for independent inquiry on civil service 'frail' claims

No10 says investigation will be carried out by civil service

The government has rejected calls for an independent inquiry into comments reportedly made by senior civil servants about Jeremy Corbyn's health.

Downing Street said the probe would be carried out by the Civil Service and dismissed Labour's demand that the investigation should be independent.

Labour called for an independent inquiry after media reports that senior civil servants had claimed Mr Corbyn was "losing his memory" and was "too frail" to be prime minister.

The Labour leader dismissed the claims, reported by The Times, as "a farrago of nonsense" and insisted he was "a very fit, very healthy, very active person".

Jon Trickett, the shadow cabinet office minister, raised the issue in the House of Commons on Monday, saying Mr Corbyn's fitness was "legendary" and condemning the "undemocratic and unconstitutional intervention" attributed to the civil servants.

Sir Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary, has written to Mr Corbyn to express his concerns and confirm that he will investigate the matter.

Theresa May's spokesperson dismissed suggestions that the inquiry should be carried out independently, saying: "We are taking the matter extremely seriously. The civil service is responsible for looking into any potential breaches of the civil service code and this is no different."

Downing Street had earlier said it would "clearly be inappropriate and unacceptable for comments of this sort to have been made or briefed to the press".

Responding to the letter from Sir Mark, Mr Corbyn demanded a "speedy and thorough" independent investigation.

Thanking the cabinet secretary for his "assurances" that he was "concerned by the articles", he wrote: "As Jon Trickett, the shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, laid out in his letter at the weekend, such discussions, based on false assumptions, should not be taking place, nor shared with a newspaper.

"This matter has inevitably undermined confidence in the principle of civil service neutrality, which is integral to the healthy functioning of our democracy. This was made clear by Jon Trickett today in parliament and endorsed by the speaker of the House of Commons.

"For there to be trust in any investigation, there need to be assurances on its scope and independence. In the light of this, I would urge you to ensure that there is a speedy and thorough independent investigation, rather than one carried out by the Cabinet Office."