JOHN Woodcock MP defied Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn by attending and intending to vote in a parliamentary debate on Trident renewal, despite being asked not to.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) called a debate on Trident and Jeremy Corbyn urged his MPs to avoid the discussion as it could expose deep divisions within the party, requesting that they attend Tuesday's by-election in Oldham instead.

But Mr Woodcock, 37, not only attended the debate, he went one step further by hanging glossy, submarine-shaped Trident information cards on all 232 Labour MPs' Westminster office doors overnight in a bid to encourage them to vote in favour of Trident renewal - despite his party leader's anti-nuclear stance.

It is believed he then voted against the SNP's proposals to scrap Trident as their motion was defeated by 330 to 64, going against Mr Corbyn's stance.

However, the Barrow and Furness MP states that Labour is actually in favour of an independent nuclear deterrent at sea because that is the manifesto position outlined at the 2015 Labour Party Conference in Brighton.

The cards seek to dispel 'SNP red herrings' such as the Scottish party's claim that shipyard workers could be found other employment if the programme is abandoned - Mr Woodcock says that there is no substitute for the thousands of jobs supported by the Trident replacement programme.

Also, the cards refute the idea that the deterrent will never be used as they point out that the deterrent is in use every day.

Mr Woodcock said: "I am proud to have been able to champion the successor programme both in parliament and in Furness. The majority of MPs want it to go ahead so we can be kept safe in a volatile world.

"There is enough support for successor to be given the go-ahead when MPs vote on the main gate decision next year.

"Despite this the SNP has spent a lot of energy spreading misinformation about what the programme will mean for the UK and we thought it was about time the record was put straight."

Stuart Klosinski of Keep Our Future Afloat Campaign (KOFAC), a lobby group joined by Mr Woodcock, said: "In the context of Monday’s Strategic Defence Review confirmation of the intention to proceed with the four successor submarines, KOFAC fully supports the endeavours that John is taking.

"The focus of our joint-campaign is to make it clear that the decision will affect the whole supply chain and the decision firms around the UK which rely on the submarine programme."