Claimants losing disability benefits could keep them for an extra three months as Keir Starmer scrambles to defuse a Labour revolt.
The transitional arrangements for proposed curbs to handouts look set to be extended from four weeks.
Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said she is planning changes to the package of welfare curbs to 'protect those most in need'.
But the government is desperate to avoid substantive concessions that could stop the measures trimming £5billion off the expected benefits bill by the end of the decade.
The proposals include tightening of the eligibility criteria for personal independence payment (Pip), the main disability benefit in England, and cutting the sickness-related element of universal credit (UC).
