Peter Kyle has hit back at claims that Labour has "no plan" for government after the party U-turned on a pledge to scrap charitable status for private schools.

Senior Labour Party sources told the i newspaper that the party had scrapped the policy and will now only apply VAT to private school fees if the party wins the next election.

Education secretary and MP for Chichester Gillian Keegan criticised Labour for the U-turn and claimed the party has “no plan” for government.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Ms Keegan highlighted two previous U-turns by Labour, including a previous pledge to abolish tuition fees and to guarantee childcare until the end of primary school.

She accused Labour of “just playing politics” in the wake of this latest U-turn.

However, Hove MP and shadow science secretary Peter Kyle said Labour remains committed to raising standards at schools for every child.

He said: “Our policy remains the same as announced by Rachel Reeves in 2021 - we will remove the unfair tax breaks that private schools benefit from, to fund desperately needed teachers and mental health counselling in every secondary school.

“This doesn’t require removing charitable status.

“Driving high and rising standards at school for every child against the backdrop of a broken economy remains a priority for Labour when in government.”

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Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson had previously spoken of “scrapping charitable tax status for private schools to fund the most ambitious state school improvement plan in a generation”.

However, Ms Phillipson today argued Labour’s position had always been to focus on other tax-related reforms when it came to private education.

During a conversation with Mumsnet, she said: “I’ve always been focused on how we end the tax breaks and how we then use that money to deliver high standards in our state schools.

“Ending charitable status was not a necessary part of doing that.

“We can press ahead with ending the tax breaks relatively quickly and then put that money into developing better outcomes for children.”

It comes after Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insisted his party was not launching an “attack” on private schools with his plans to remove VAT relief if he becomes Prime Minister after the next election, which is widely expected to be held next year.