Sir Keir Starmer is facing backbench anger after ministers abandoned plans to give workers day-one protection against unfair dismissal in a U-turn that breaches the Labour manifesto.

MPs including a former minister who spearheaded the Employment Rights Bill with ex-deputy leader Angela Rayner voiced concerns over the climbdown announced by the Government on Thursday night.

Ministers have axed the proposal to cut the “qualifying period” for workers to make an unfair dismissal claim from 24 months to the first day in a new job, in a bid to get the legislation through Parliament.

The Bill had been caught in a stand-off between peers and MPs over the original plan to give workers the protection on day one, as well as measures to ban “exploitative” zero-hours contracts.

The Government now i

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