Labour has been accused of having an "empty" manifesto during a heated exchange on BBC Question Time.

Lisa Nandy MP leapt to her party's defence after political commentator Grace Blakeley suggested that Labour's leadership did not want to support policies the part had during Jeremy Corbyn's era.

Speaking on BBC's Question Time, Ms Blakeley said: "Lisa, your visceral hatred of everything that happened during the Corbyn era, and I think this is true of lots of people in the Labour leadership, means that you've looked at that manifesto and seen there was a lot in it - that is true - and just said 'anything that Corbynism has touched we can't go near' which means that you have a manifesto that is basically empty."

Ms Nandy responded by saying "that's just rubbish" while her fellow panellist added that it "effectively" has nothing in it.

The Labour MP then gave an example of how the party last week announced plans to take rail franchises back into national ownership as contracts expire.

In response to Ms Blakeley's accusation, Ms Nandy added: "I'm afraid that's just not true."

The pair clashed several times during the hour-long programme which was recorded in Stoke-on-Trent.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will set out their party's manifesto ahead of a general election which is expected later this year.

Mr Sunak has yet to confirm when Britons will head to the ballot box although his "working assumption" is in the second-half of this year.

Labour continues to be ahead in polls with a 30-point lead over the Conservatives.

A YouGov poll this week put Labour on 48 percent and the Tories on 18 percent.