Labour suspends senior councillor in Islamophobia row
Davie McLachlan is being investigated, the party confirms
Labour has suspended the party's leader on South Lanarkshire Council after Glasgow MSP Anas Sarwar alleged he had been the victim of racist comments.
A Scottish Labour Party spokesman confirmed it has suspended Davie McLachlan following Mr Sarwar's claims on Monday that during the Scottish Labour leadership campaign a councillor told him he could not back him because he was a "brown, Muslim P***''.
The Labour spokesman said: "Davie McLachlan has been suspended by the Labour Party, pending an investigation.''
Mr Sarwar, who is Labour's health spokesman at Holyrood, confirmed: "I met with the party and disclosed the identity of the councillor involved. I have also provided in writing the full details of what was said to me.''
He added: "It is now for the Scottish Labour Party to take the next step as regards to an investigation.
"My focus will remain on tackling the wider issues of everyday racism and everyday Islamophobia. I stress that this is bigger than any one individual or one organisation. This is about challenging the institutional prejudices that impact on workplaces, campuses and classrooms across the county.''
Mr Sarwar lost out to Richard Leonard in last autumn's leadership contest, which was sparked by the resignation of Kezia Dugdale.
He said he had not lost due to his ethnic background, but added that he had spoken out to raise awareness about racism and Islamophobia.
He also claimed another Labour member told him she could not support his bid after seeing a picture of his wife Furheen wearing a hijab.