A Jewish Labour peer has described how he felt “quite sick” watching Jeremy Corbyn trying to justify his decision to stand as Labour leader.

Speaking to The House magazine, Lord Winston said he was not sure he “could say a civil word” to Mr Corbyn.

“I was one of the few members of the House of Lords here when Corbyn justified standing. It was bloody unbelievable”, he said.

“It’s a piece of history I’m glad I saw but it made me feel quite sick. There he was defending himself and then right at the back of the room, almost in the darkness, were John McDonnell and Seamus Milne, like puppeteers pulling the strings.”

Focussing more on Mr Corbyn, Lord Winston told the House, “I’m sure he’s quite a decent man.

“In a way it’s not his fault, he’s a symptom of the malaise. I’ve been looking at his speeches from the 1980s. I can’t see him getting better; he’s been here a hell of a long time to improve.”

The scientist and television presenter, who was ennobled in 1995 as Baron Winston of Hammersmith, also attacked his own party for being “too frightened” to push for a second referendum to be held on the subject of Brexit.

“They say it’s a democratic election,” he said to the House, referring to the vote last June to leave the European Union.

“My view is, well, the electorate was so massively lied to.

“In the past MPs have taken brave decisions, unpopular decisions. Capital punishment is a good example, where the public and Parliament were at complete odds. But I don’t think anybody’s got the bravery.”