Angela Eagle insisted she has not embarked on a political "suicide mission" as she launched her bid to topple Jeremy Corbyn.

The Wallasey MP and former shadow business secretary said she could make Labour electable again after the "howl of pain" expressed in the Brexit vote.

"I don't go in for suicide missions," Ms Eagle said when asked if her chances were doomed if Mr Corbyn is allowed on the ballot paper.

Ms Eagle insisted it was a matter for the party's national executive committee whether Mr Corbyn needed to be nominated by 51 MPs and MEPs to be allowed to stand as a candidate.

Taking a swipe at Mr Corbyn, Ms Eagle said: "A kinder politics must be a reality, not just a slogan."

Ms Eagle insisted she was not a Blairite or a Brownite as she declared: "I am my own woman."

Referring to an attack from shadow health secretary Diane Abbott claiming that her bid was akin to The Empire Strikes Back because she represented the old guard in Labour, Ms Eagle joked: "More like Return Of The Jedi."

Ms Eagle said she had no choice but to stand against Mr Corbyn because Britain was in danger of becoming a "one-party Tory state" under his leadership.

Insisting she could unite the party, Ms Eagle said the anti-EU win in the referendum was a wake-up call showing that voters felt they had been ignored for too long.

The leadership move against Mr Corbyn comes as the party faces bitter legal wrangles over how the election will be organised.

The Labour leader has vowed to fight any challenge and continue in his position despite the overwhelming majority of his MPs losing confidence in his ability to secure a general election victory.

Ms Eagle has the backing of the 51 MPs needed for a formal challenge but it remains unclear whether Mr Corbyn will also have to secure the support of MPs in order to fight the leadership battle.

The 55-year-old said her background as a "good, sensible, down-to-earth woman with northern roots" would help her lead the party.

Describing herself as a "practical socialist", Ms Eagle said Mr Corbyn was not up to the job.

"He has been hiding behind a door not talking to his Members of Parliament - that's not leadership. He's opened the party to new ideas, but we need other people to take them forward," she said.

"This isn't about splitting the Labour Party, it is about creating a strong, united party," Ms Eagle added.

Pressed whether she wanted others to stand for the post, Ms Eagle said: "I'll take on all comers."

Asked if her persona was "too gloomy" to lead the party, Ms Eagle said: "Well, we all have our moments."

Labour officials have received enough nominations to trigger a leadership contest and will now begin to make arrangements for an election.

Iain McNicol, general secretary of the Labour Party, said: "I have now received sufficient nominations to trigger a contest for the position of leader of the Labour Party.

"I will now ask the chair of the National Executive Committee to convene a meeting to confirm arrangements for an election."

Meanwhile, Owen Smith, another potential leadership contender, expressed fears Mr Corbyn and his allies are prepared to split the party in order to remain in place.

In a further sign the party is on the verge of all-out civil war, Mr Smith said that at a meeting with Mr Corbyn he asked him three times whether he is prepared to see a split but "he offered no answer", while the leader's ally and shadow chancellor John McDonnell "shrugged his shoulders and said 'if that's what it takes'".