Kent's only Labour MP has defied party leader Jeremy Corbyn by voting that Britain should retain access to the single market after Brexit.

Rosie Duffield has also resigned from her position as a parliamentary private secretary after going against an instruction to abstain from the crucial vote in the House of Commons.

The Canterbury and Whitstable MP justified her decision in a video on her website saying she is still a remainer at heart.

She was among 89 MPs who joined the Labour rebellion defying an order by the Labour leader not to vote at all on an amendment keeping Britain in the European Economic Area.

In a post on her Facebook page she said: "I know we voted as a nation to leave the EU but think about Canterbury and our unique position in England.

"We absolutely depend on our relationship with Europe - The University of Kent is our biggest employer - and we also need people to support and prop up the NHS.”

She said Canterbury was in a unique position and many businesses depended on tourism from Europe.

"It is incredibly important for me as MP for the area that we stay as close as we possibly can to the European Union.

"It is incredibly important for me as MP for the area that we stay as close as we possibly can to the European Union..." - Rosie Duffield MP

"It is better for Canterbury in my opinion that we stay as close as possible [to Europe] - the EEA can protect things that need protecting.”

She had been an aide to the shadow equalities and womens minister Dawn Butler Brent.

During the debate in the Commons last night, the South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay accused Labour of a “barely disguised attempt” to keep the UK in the European Union.

He said: “The people of this country do know best - they do know what they were voting for and that means leaving the Customs Union and gaining control of our laws borders and money.”