Scottish Labour members have called for a sacked candidate to be reinstated in a row over the party's position on a possible independence referendum.
Hollie Cameron was due to contest the Glasgow Kelvin constituency at May's Holyrood election but was removed yesterday after she gave an interview to a pro-independence newspaper in which she shared her support for an IndyRef2.
Party bosses insisted she had failed to give assurances she would follow the party whip - but the decision sparked anger among rank and file members.
Anas Sarwar - who took charge of Scottish Labour last month - is opposed to a second independence referendum and wants Holyrood to focus instead on the recovery from the pandemic.
An open letter from the Glasgow Kelvin constituency party has today called for Cameron to be reinstated immediately.
The letter states: "Hollie was democratically elected by members from across Labour’s broad church as Glasgow Kelvin’s candidate, with no votes against.
"During Hollie’s campaign for selection for the Glasgow Regional List and for Glasgow Kelvin constituency, her position as a 2014 Yes voter and her current views on the constitutional question were made clear.
"However, the focus of Hollie’s campaign was to be on a socialist coronavirus and climate recovery for Scotland.
"Hollie took part in an interview outlining her perspective on the constitution and the democratic rights of people in Scotland.
"Running in a constituency where over 60% voted for pro-independence parties at the last Holyrood elections, the aim of this interview was to get Labour’s message to a significant constituency who have stopped listening to the party."
Cameron said: "I have been very touched by the support I have received from Glasgow Kelvin CLP, party members and important figures in the Labour movement. I am also humbled to have received messages of support from the general public.
"My position on another referendum has been clear for years and was clear throughout the selection process. I was selected by a large margin either because, or in spite of my view.
"I am a dedicated campaigner who is loyal to the Labour Party and my home city. Following the leadership election, Anas Sarwar stated that Scotland hadn't had the Labour Party it deserves; I did and continue to believe I am the Labour candidate Glasgow Kelvin deserves."
Sandra White won Glasgow Kelvin for the SNP in 2011 and increased her majority to over 4,000 at the last election in 2016.
But White is now retiring from frontline politics and Kaukab Stewart is charged with retaining the seat for the Nicola Sturgeon's party.
Responding to today's events, Stewart said: “Anas Sarwar has failed his first test of leadership, by making it abundantly clear that any Labour supporters who believe that the people of Scotland have a democratic right to choose their own future are not welcome in his party.
“That explains why people across Scotland have given up on Scottish Labour - voters just can’t take them seriously anymore.
“It is the people who live here who should decide what kind of country Scotland should be - not Boris Johnson - and Labour’s dismissive attitude towards that democratic right won’t wash with voters."
Scottish Labour has so far failed to respond to the Record's requests for comment.
