Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq has been appointed to the role of shadow minister for early years in Jeremy Corbyn’s new shadow cabinet.

Ms Siddiq, who gave birth to her first daughter Azalea Joy in April, was appointed on Sunday as Mr Corbyn finalised a reshuffle which has seen some rebels return to the fold, while others prepare to step up opposition to his leadership.

Mr Corbyn moved to ease disquiet at the thrust of the front bench shake-up by revealing that 10 MPs who had previously walked out on him have now returned to serve.

Mr Corbyn said: “I am pleased to announce the appointment of 21 MPs to our front bench, 14 of whom are women and four of whom are from the black and minority ethnic community.

The appointments follow reports that leading anti-Corbyn figures are preparing to organise their own “shadow shadow cabinet” in direct competition with the official front bench, which will produce its own policy initiatives.

Holborn and St Pancras MP Sir Keir Starmer, seen as the senior moderate in Mr Corbyn’s top team, expressed a relaxed attitude to the emergence of such a body.

Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir said there were “unresolved” issues in the parliamentary party after Mr Corbyn’s reshuffle, a shake-up which saw Labour plunged back into in-fighting.

Asked about the “shadow shadow cabinet” on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show yesterday, Sir Keir said: “There are unresolved issues in the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).

“We do need to resolve them as soon as possible. We need to be an outward-looking, confident party rather than an inward, divided party, so we need to address that.

“I respect colleagues who want to make their voice heard from different places, whether it’s the back bench, the mid-bench, through select committees, or on the front bench.”