Gordon Brown will take no action against Labour MP Kate Hoey despite her promise to work alongside Boris Johnson.

Ms Hoey, a critic of the Ken Livingstone administration, has agreed to serve a Johnson-led regime as an unpaid non-executive director advising on sport and the 2012 Olympics, it was announced earlier today.

But the former sports minister and Labour MP for Vauxhall avoided expulsion staying - just - within party rules by declaring that she would be campaigning for the party on Thursday’s poll.

Geoff Hoon, the Chief Whip, summoned Ms Hoey to a meeting amid calls from Labour MPs to expel. A statement issued afterwards compared her role to that of Tory MPs who have agreed to work with Gordon Brown on specific issues.

“The key part of the Boris Johnson statement - ie that I will be the first member of his administration - is wrong. I have simply agreed to act in a similar position, for example to Conservative MPs John Bercow and Patrick Mercer - in that I have said that I will advise on a non-partisan basis in respect of my lifetime commitment to bringing sport to the people of London.

“This is not an endorsement of Boris Johnson for Mayor. I will be voting for my party and Labour candidates on Thursday.

I am a Labour MP and I am standing for Labour at the next election. I support the Labour Government. I have and shall continue actively to campaign for Labour in these elections, not least for Val Shawcross, my local GLA member.”

The key passage of the Labour rule book states: “Any party member of the party who joins or supports a political organisation other than the Labour Party ... or who supports any candidate who stands against an official Labour candidate or who publicly declares their intention to do so will be automatically ineligible to remain a member.”

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