Keir Starmer refuses to say if he’ll give Jeremy Corbyn a job in his top team

Labour leadership frontrunner Keir Starmer has refused to say if he would offer Jeremy Corbyn a job in his top team if he wins the contest.

The shadow Brexit secretary insisted he had "not discussed the shadow cabinet with anybody" when pressed over his plans today.

The outgoing Labour leader – blamed by many for the party's devastating defeat at the election – said last week that he would serve in his successor's shadow cabinet if they asked him to.

Mr Starmer's rival for the top job Becky Long-Bailey has previously suggested she would offer Mr Corbyn a job.

It comes as Labour members start voting for the next Labour leader – who will be tasked with recovering the party from its catastrophic general election defeat, the worst since 1935.

Mr Starmer also vowed to scrap salary thresholds for migrants coming to Britain if he wins, saying it was "profoundly the wrong approach".

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The bookies' favourite insisted he was not guaranteed to become Labour leader as the members' ballot opens today – with more than 500,000 members deciding a winner by April 4.

Asked if he would give Mr Corbyn a job he said: "I have not discussed with anyone who might be in a shadow cabinet because I’m not so presumptuous as to think I’m going to win.

"I’m focused on actually getting every vote in."

The Labour MP – who has vowed to bring back EU freedom of movement – also tried to cement his place as the pro-EU candidate by pledging to axe salary thresholds for migrants coming to Britain.

Last week, the Home Office announced that it would introduce a points-based immigration system – with points awarded for key requirements like being able to speak English to a certain level, having a job offer from an approved employer, and meeting a minimum salary threshold.

The salary threshold for skilled migrants will be lowered to £25,600 for those coming to the UK with a job offer and there may be concessions for those earning no less than £20,480 as long as they still meet certain requirements or their occupation is short of staff.

Sir Keir told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The position the Government has just taken is completely wrong – where they are equating the worth of an individual coming to this country by how much money they earn. I think that's profoundly the wrong approach…

"I think the idea that if you don't earn a certain salary you're not bringing anything of any worth to this country is offensive."

Asked if he would do away with salary thresholds, he replied: "I would – I do not think they are the right measure for the worth of an individual coming to this country."

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