The founder of a literary magazine claims he has been blacklisted by the Left for criticising the London Review of Books (LRB) as “smug”.

Booklaunch, the UK’s most widely distributed literary magazine, had previously given out tens of thousands of free copies of its publication with The Spectator and The New Statesman.

But now Dr Stephen Games, its founder and editor, claims his independent literary magazine has been “no-platformed” and “cancelled” by The New Statesman under pressure from the LRB.

Dr Games alleged the LRB “poured poison in the ear of The New Statesman”, causing it to sever its ties with Booklaunch.

“It’s dirty and shabby and inexplicable that magazines that ought to be committed to free expression and plurality of expression should feel that Booklaunch is so threatening to them that they have to shut it out of existence,” he claimed.

The New Statesman and the LRB have declined to comment on the row, and it remains unclear exactly why the relationship has soured.