A member of the Labour Party in Northern Ireland has threatened his party with legal action over its continued refusal to stand candidates in elections in Northern Ireland.

Solicitors acting for Damien Harris, vice-chairman of the Labour Party NI, have sent a letter to the party’s UK headquarters, suggesting the issue could be brought to the High Court.

Mr Harris was one of six Labour rebels who defied party rules by running in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in 2016.

He said: “I, and thousands of members of the Labour Party in Northern Ireland, have grown impatient at the continuing delays with the review into the rights of members in Northern Ireland to stand for election.

“We are demanding one simple thing - to be afforded the same rights of membership as any other member of the Labour Party.”

Mr Harris has described the party’s ban on running candidates in Northern Ireland as a “discriminatory prohibition”.

The Labour Party has accepted membership applications from people in Northern Ireland since 2003.

The party’s annual conference voted to overturn its long-standing ban on membership after a legal challenge was launched by Andy McGivern, backed by the Commission for Racial Equality.