An MP suspended from Labour for spearheading a rebellion against disability benefit cuts has stood by her actions and says she will “continue to advocate for my constituents”.

Rachael Maskell, the MP for York Central, told the BBC that Keir Starmer had been wrong to suspend her and three colleagues and that the party needed to be a “broad church that listens to each other”.

Speaking to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, she said by speaking up against government cuts to disability benefits she was advocating for people who were “invisible in our society”.

“I don’t see myself as a ringleader, I joined with other colleagues who had similar concerns about this legislation. We ultimately do believe that cutting money from some of the poorest in our society is not what a Labour government should be doing,” she said.

“Of course I brought to parliament the voices of my constituents, in fact I told stories within the debate about their fragile mental health and the implications of losing money and the reforms would have on them.

“Quite frankly, disabled people are very invisible in our society, they don’t have agency and voice. What was so important about that debate was the recognition of that.”

Ministers U-turned over the bulk of their planned cuts to disability benefits earlier this month after a major backbench rebellion threatened the government’s majority.

Pressed on whether she intended to change her stance after being suspended, Maskell said she would “continue to advocate for my constituents”. She said Starmer had been wrong to suspend the whip from her and three colleagues, saying: “On this occasion, I don’t think he’s got it right.”

The other three suspended Labour MPs are Neil Duncan-Jordan, Chris Hinchliff and Brian Leishman, who are from the 2024 intake. All four MPs disciplined were among the 47 who rebelled against the government’s welfare bill even after major concessions were made.

A Labour source said on Wednesday that the MPs had been disciplined for being “persistent rebels”.

Jess Phillips, a Home Office minister, said the MPs should not be surprised by the action against them and that “we have to act as a team in order to achieve something”.

“We have to seek to work together, and if you are acting in a manner that is to undermine the ability of the government to deliver those things, I don’t know what you expect,” Phillips told broadcasters.

“Now I speak out against things I do not like, both internally and sometimes externally, all the time. There is a manner of doing that that is the right way to go about it.”

Maskell told the BBC that “the chief whip made it very clear to me … that my work on the disabled people reforms were the reason why I was being suspended from the Labour party”.

She added that she had been suspended for her actions relating to “the social security changes, not for other measures”. Maskell has been a vocal critic of the government in a range of areas.

In response to speculation that she could defect from Labour to join a rival leftwing party, such as the one being formed by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, Maskell said: “No no no, I’m Labour through and through, I support the Labour party, I’ve been a member for so long, I’ve walked the streets, knocked the doors all those years and I want to see the Labour government really succeed.”

She called for “more listening” from ministers and “better reach-out to backbenchers to ensure that we are the safeguards of the government”.