Jeremy Corbyn has had his claims of Jewish ancestry rejected by a leading genealogist.

The new Labour Party leader had revealed that he believed he had Jewish roots in an interview with the Church Times.

He said his mother, Naomi, was a Bible-reading agnostic while his father, David, was a church-going Christian.

But he added: "Going back a lot further, there is a Jewish element in the family, probably from Germany."

However, Doreen Berger, one of the founders of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, said she had conducted extensive research into Mr Corbyn's ancestors and had found no evidence to back up his claim.

"There was nothing I could find," she said.

"I went back as far as 1837 in the civil records, and I couldn't find anything at all. I looked up all the different lines and marriages in the family.

"He could have a remote great uncle who married someone who was Jewish, but there were definitely no Jews in his direct line."

According to Ms Berger's research, Mr Corbyn's mother's family tree included the Reverend Edward Nicholas Stott, a Yorkshire-born vicar, while his paternal great-grandparents were William Corbyn, a Suffolk tailor, and Dorothy Mary Bush, the daughter of a Norfolk chemist.

"I am sorry to inform a disappointed politician, but no Jewish blood can be found in his ancestors," said Ms Berger.