Jeremy Corbyn will REMAIN on the Labour leadership ballot - the legal challenge fails

Jack Taylor / Stringer

Jeremy Corbyn will not be taken off the Labour Party leadership ballot, a high court ruled on Thursday afternoon.

The National Executive Committee's (NEC) decision to automatically put the leader of the Labour party on the ballot was deemed legal, which means Corbyn will not have to secure 51 nominations from Labour MPs and MEPs in order to continue with his leadership contest campaign.

This is another massive victory for the under-pressure Labour leader. Corbyn is deeply unpopular with Labour parliamentarians and would probably not have been able to secure 51 nominations.

However, he enjoys massive grassroots support and will head into the contest against challenger Owen Smith as the overwhelming favourite.

The ruling, though, is bad news for challenger Owen Smith. The former shadow work and pensions secretary enjoys the support of his fellow Labour MPs but is nowhere near as popular with the party membership.

Corbyn welcomed the decision but described the court case a "waste of time and resources" in a statement sent to Business Insider shortly after the ruling. The Labour leader said:

"I welcome the decision by the High Court to respect the democracy of the Labour Party. This has been a waste of time and resources when our party should be focused on holding the government to account.

"There should have been no question of the right of half a million Labour Party members to choose their own leader being overturned. If anything, the aim should be to expand the number of voters in this election. I hope all candidates and supporters will reject any attempt to prolong this process, and that we can now proceed with the election in a comradely and respectful manner."

The NEC's decision to put the under-pressure Corbyn on the ballot was challenged by party donor Michael Foster, who said the decision required the "consideration" of a neutral judge. Mr Justice Foskett ruled at around 1400 (BST) Thursday afternoon that Foster's legal bid was not successful.

This latest decision comes after 172 Labour MPs backed a motion of "no confidence" against the veteran socialist last month.

More to follow...