LIVERPOOL Council's Labour leader Joe Anderson last night denied he was at loggerheads with Ed Miliband over a controversial plan to deny council homes to the workshy.

Joe Anderson poured scorn on a report that he had criticised the national leader over the policy – and had threatened to quit the Labour party if it was forced through.

Instead, Cllr Anderson insisted he shared Mr Miliband's view that people who make a "contribution" to their community should be given priority for scarce social housing.

And he even urged the Labour leader to go further, with a tougher crackdown on nuisance tenants who make the lives of their neighbours a misery.

Cllr Anderson blamed the confusion on a BBC reporter who mistakenly believed that all jobless people would be denied council homes, a clear misreading of the policy. And he said: "There is absolutely no difference between myself and Ed Miliband on this issue.

"I believe it's absolutely right to treat people who contribute to their community differently from someone who doesn't. I don't think anyone disagrees with that - and I certainly don't."

The row blew up after the BBC reported Cllr Anderson had criticised the policy – outlined in Mr Miliband's keynote speech – to punish housing applicants who fail to look for work, volunteer or be "good neighbours".