By Andrew MacAskill and Elizabeth Piper LONDON (Reuters) -British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sharply scaled back planned welfare cuts on Friday to quell a rebellion by lawmakers in his governing Labour Party,

The U-turn, including protecting personal independence payments (Pip) for existing claimants, comes after 126 MPs threatened to vote against the government.

Labour wanted to set a higher bar for eligibility to reduce the amount being paid out. Under the new system, claimants would have to score four points in one category to be eligible.