Labour has not ruled out adopting Jeremy Corbyn's position on scrapping the UK's nuclear deterrent but shadow defence secretary Maria Eagle insisted she remained in favour of renewing the Trident system.

Ms Eagle said the review of Labour's nuclear weapons policy ordered by the party's leader would examine the issue with a "completely open mind".

She restated her view that Mr Corbyn's declaration that he would not press the nuclear button if he was in Number 10 was not a "helpful" thing for a potential prime minister to say but accused the Tories of trying to exploit Labour's differences on the issue by pushing for an early Commons vote on the new submarines needed for the weapons system.

In a New Statesman interview she insisted there should be a debate about Trident within Labour, which the review would allow.

"I think at a time when you've got austerity and big cuts in public expenditure it's reasonable for people to ask whether or not the money that we're spending on defence generally and on successor submarine, in particular, is properly spent," she said.

The review will approach the issue "with a completely open mind" on "the basis of facts and figures".

Asked if that meant it could endorse Mr Corbyn's position on unilateral disarmament she said: "I'm not ruling it out."

The final day of Labour's party conference was dominated by a row over Mr Corbyn's acknowledgement that there were no circumstances in which he would launch a nuclear strike if he was prime minister.

"For a potential prime minister to answer that question in the way he did isn't helpful, it isn't helpful," Ms Eagle said.

She said deterrence "certainly doesn't work if you tell your potential enemies precisely what you are or aren't going to do in given circumstances" and added she "didn't think it was necessary for him to answer that question" on BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Ministers are considering holding the crunch vote on renewing Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent before Christmas.

Reports have suggested the decision could be brought forward to highlight Labour divisions and prevent the issue dominating Scottish elections next May.

The "main gate" vote on proceeding with a like-for-like renewal had been expected in the middle of 2016, allowing time for new submarines to be built before the existing fleet is taken out of service in the late 2020s.

Ms Eagle refused to say whether she thought Mr Corbyn should grant a free vote on the issue but accused the Tories of being "despicable" for "seeking to play party politics" over Trident.

She said they did not have to have a Commons vote on the issue and added that if they did stage a Commons showdown before Christmas "that is a despicable attempt to play politics with this issue and, quite disgracefully, with our national defence at a time of increased tension abroad for them to do that".

Ms Eagle added: "It's going to be an issue in the Scottish elections whether there's a vote before or not."

She claimed the Tories were trying to "exploit differences in the Labour Party" but added: "That kind of behaviour will be seen for what it is."

Labour, she said, would "have a genuine debate about whether or not this is the right way for us to spend a significant amount of money over a significant number of years".