SIR Keir Starmer has suspended at least three Labour MPs in a brutal crackdown on what insiders blasted as “persistent knobheadery”.

The PM swung the axe just days before MPs break for the summer, in a clear move to stamp his authority on the party after a string of rebellious flare-ups.

The exact number of suspensions is expected to be confirmed later this afternoon — but sources told The Times the decision follows repeated run-ins with the rulebook.

One senior Labour figure said the rogue MPs had been warned multiple times before finally being stripped of the whip.

The suspensions come after Sir Keir was forced into an embarrassing U-turn on benefit reforms, after facing a mutiny from his own backbenchers.

Rumours are swirling that the MPs could be plotting to jump ship and join a new party reportedly being set up by former Labour boss Jeremy Corbyn and MP Zarah Sultana.