The Labour party’s biggest affiliate trade union, Unite, has suspended Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, as a dispute over a strike gripping the city of Birmingham deepens.

Unite, the UK’s largest union, has moved to suspend deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and re-examine its relationship with Labour, in a blow to the government as it battles to retain ties with the left wing of the party.

Angela Rayner has been suspended by Unite the Union over the Birmingham bin strike. The union has also announced that it will review its relationship with the Labour Party. On Friday, Unite, one of Labour’s biggest financial backers, voted to suspend the Deputy Prime Minister, accusing her of backing a council that had “peddled lies”.