Chuka Umunna A.K.A Mr Smooth wheels out his girlfriend for first time as Labour leadership race gets nasty

Labour's leadership race turned serious yesterday morning - after front-runner Chuka Umunna wheeled out his new girlfriend in public for the first time as he set out his stall to replace Ed Miliband.

The shadow business secretary was pictured walking hand-in-hand with his glamorous lawyer partner Alice Sullivan ahead of his interview on the BBC's flagship Andrew Marr show.

Mr Umunna used the interview to criticise Labour's drift to the left and admitted he was considering a bid become leader.

His intervention came after Labour's leadership battle descended into open warfare after Mr Umunna and the other leadership contenders were accused of 'behaving like family members taking jewellery off a corpse' by openly criticising Mr Miliband so soon after the election defeat. While Mr Hunt and Mr Umunna have not formally announced their leadership bids, the speed with which they distanced themselves from the former leader sparked criticism from elsewhere in the party.