Jim Murphy resigns as Scottish Labour leader and offers stunning attack on union leaders

Jim Murphy offered a stunning broadside to union officials today as he signalled his intention to resign as Scottish Labour leader.

Murphy, who was ousted as MP for East Renfrewshire in last week's election, claimed he had been the victim of a “grossly insulting” campaign by Unite union leader Len McCluskey since Labour's defeat.

"One of the things about stepping down is that you can say things in public that so many people in the Labour Party can only say in private,” Murphy explained.

And say things he did:

The leader of the Scottish Labour Party doesn’t serve at the grace of Len McCluskey and the next leader of the UK Labour Party should not be picked by Len McCluskey...

Len McCluskey and the Unite leadership are the type of people who could pick the wrong winner in a one-horse race.

• Jim Murphy

Murphy announced that he would be standing down at a meeting of the party's national executive in Glasgow next month despite winning a confidence vote on Saturday.

i100.co.uk has contacted Unite for a response to Mr Murphy's comments.

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