"There is a case" for the Scottish Labour Party operating completely separately north of the border, UK leadership candidate Andy Burnham has said.

Jim Murphy yesterday announced he is to resign as Scottish Labour leader after the party was almost wiped out in Scotland at the general election.

He has pledged to table a report of proposed reforms to the Scottish executive before leaving next month as debate over the future of the party intensifies.

Some who called for Mr Murphy to step down also want to see the Scottish party given more autonomy from central control.

Appearing on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, UK leadership frontrunner Mr Burnham was asked by the host if Scottish Labour should "run its affairs entirely separate from the party in London".

He said: "There is a case for that and I will look at that.

"We've had an election that's left the country more divided and fragmented, we've got a Prime Minister who has stoked the separatist cause in his own interest.

"It used to be the Tory and Unionist party but they're now just playing to English nationalism. If anyone is concerned about the break-up of the UK they need a strong Labour Party going forward and I am the person who can speak to all parts of the UK."

Mr Burnham added: "I've got huge respect for Jim, he's given his all to the Labour Party, but in Scotland we do now need a clean break, we need a process of listening and learning and rebuilding and I believe in this contest I'm the person best placed to do that."

Outgoing Mr Murphy urged Labour to distance itself from ''the destructive behaviour'' of Unite boss Len McCluskey in a parting shot ahead of his promised resignation.

The recently ousted East Renfrewshire MP said any UK leader elected with Mr McCluskey's support would carry a political ''kiss of death''.

Mr Burnham was asked if his party should break links with the unions.

He told Mr Marr: "Certainly not. I'm proud of those links, I'm proud that ordinary working people will be taking part in this contest.

"People complain about the lack of engagement in politics, I believe the trade union link gives ordinary working people a bigger say, a bigger sense of engagement in politics and that's something to be celebrated."

Speaking on Pienaar's Politics on BBC Radio Five Live, Mr McCluskey said he was being portrayed as a "bogeyman".

"I think, obviously, Jim is hurting and I can understand that," the Unite boss said.

"But he's playing the same trick that right-wing media has played for a number of years, looking for a bogeyman as an excuse. I wasn't the one who lost Scotland to the SNP.

"It wasn't just Unite who called for him to step down - Unison, GMB and a growing number of MSPs - so he's hurting at the moment, I understand that.

"I've never actually spoken to Jim, I've never had a conversation with him, therefore it's not personal when right at the beginning of the Scottish leadership election I said it would be dangerous for Labour - in fact I think I said it would be a political death sentence - if Jim took it over.

"It wasn't personal, it was because Jim has been at the epicentre of the ideology that has alienated the Scottish working class for years and years."

He added: "The SNP have been gaining ground for years and Scottish Labour has displayed an arrogance that, unfortunately, led us to where we are at the general election.

"I have a right to express a view on behalf of my members, the majority of my members voted for the SNP in the general election and unfortunately what I was predicting would happen came to pass. I was hoping it wouldn't, I was hoping Jim would win back the trust of the Scottish working class."

Mr McCluskey said he did not have an attachment with the SNP but said some members of Unite want to see the rules of political support changed in Scotland.

He told BBC Radio Five Live: "We have a rules conference in my union in July and there's already a number of resolutions from Scotland seeking to release them from the rule that kind of limits us just to the Labour Party."

SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson welcomed Len McCluskey's comments that many of his members had voted for the SNP.

He told the Murnaghan programme on Sky News: "We're in a very strong position and I have no doubt that the majority of trade unionists voted for the SNP in the recent election, just as many other groups in society, because the SNP pledged to stand up for Scotland's interests, for progressive politics against the austerity agenda and that chimed with many people."

Meanwhile, Scotland's only remaining Labour MP, Ian Murray, said the new leader of the Scottish party should be an MSP and praised current deputy leader Kezia Dugdale.

Speaking on Sunday Politics Scotland, he said: "I'm very much of the view, and I'm not sure this is any great secret, that the leader of the Scottish Labour Party should probably be a member of the Scottish parliament.

"I think deputy leader Kezia Dugdale has done a fantastic job at FMQs holding the SNP to account, which is what the Scottish Labour party should be doing.

"She is someone who inspires people, I've known her for many years and she has inspired me for many years. Hopefully she will be able to inspire the party and inspire the country and that's what the Scottish Labour Party should be about."

Lothians MSP Neil Findlay has ruled himself out of running for the Scottish Labour leadership.

Mr Findlay was in a three-way contest for the position with Jim Murphy and Sarah Boyack last December but said he will not be a candidate this time.

He was part of Mr Murphy's shadow cabinet but resigned last week, citing the party's ''disaster'' in the general election in Scotland.

In a statement today he said: "The last week has been a traumatic time for everyone in the Scottish Labour Party. We now need to get on with the urgent task of rebuilding our organisation, the morale of party members and the policies we need to restore the faith of the voters in the run up to the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections.

"I hope to play my full part in that process but I also want to make it crystal clear that I will not be a candidate in the election for the position of Scottish Labour leader.

"I hope that we can now move ahead as quickly as possible in electing a new leader who will begin the fightback by rebuilding a confident, effective Labour party, proud of our values whilst offering hope and a positive vision for the future."