THREE Labour MSPs have called on Richard Leonard to quit as party leader in an attempt to avoid a “catastrophic result” at next year’s Holyrood election.

James Kelly has quit as Scottish Labour’s justice spokesperson, blaming Mr Leonard for having “failed to turn things around” despite the fortunes of the party being “a worrying and consistent trend for some time”.

In his resignation letter, Mr Kelly said “the position of the party continues to decline not improve”, pointing to polling placing Scottish Labour at just 14 per cent with the public.

He added: “More than half the public have no opinion on you and you have a negative rating even among our own supporters.

“Such poor ratings would produce a catastrophic result from which the party would struggle to recover.

“I see no evidence of a clear plan to reverse the party’s fortunes.”

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Labour MSP Daniel Johnson has also spoken out against Mr Leonard’s leadership – stressing “it is time to recognise the situation we are in and for Ricahrd to step down”.

He added: “I have attempted to raise my concerns and make constructive suggestions. These have gone unheeded and there has been no change in approach or performance.

“Continuing like this will be disastrous for our party and is why I no longer have confidence in Richard Leonard’s leadership.”

Jenny Marra has added her voice to the opposition to Mr Leonard continuing as leader, warning it is an “unavoidable truth” that he “cannot lead us”.

Speaking to The Times, she said: “If we do not change course now we risk catastrophe. Not just for the party but for all those who believe in and need a fairer, more equal Scotland.

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“The reality is that you only have a short window in political leadership to make an impression on the public. After three years the party’s standing is getting worse rather than better. No one can say that Richard has not had opportunities to turn the situation around.”

Mr Leonard is set to take on Nicola Sturgeon at First Minister’s Questions this afternoon – a week after his disastrous performance led one party insider to warn he was “dragging the party down with him”.

In reply to Mr Kelly’s resignation, Mr Leonard said: "It is deeply disappointing that disgruntled MSPs who never supported my leadership would choose the day when the Scottish Government finally accepted a Labour policy demand of ten years - for a National Care Service - to try and wage an internal war."