Two board members have resigned from Creative Scotland amid growing controversy over its funding decisions. 

Ruth Wishart and Professor Maggie Kinloch have stepped down from the body's board, which is due to hold and emergency meeting over the furore surrounding its Regularly Funded Organisations decisions.

Ms Wishart has said it is "dispiriting that Creative Scotland again finds itself a family at war with many of those it seeks to serve."

READ MORE: Open letter signed by 150 theatre workers urges Creative Scotland to reinstate Catherine Wheels funding

There has been anger over cuts to touring theatre organisations such as Catherine Wheels and the disability theatre company Birds of Paradise.

They have both resigned with immediate effect.

The arts body has been forced to hold crisis talks to review its funding decisions.

An emergency board meeting is to be held within days to “take stock” of the fall-out from moves to strip 20 companies of long-term funding.

In a blog entry today, Ms Wishart, an experienced journalist, writes: "It's not possible to go into the discussions  at the relevant board meeting, not least since, whilst you serve on a board, you are bound by the equivalent of collective cabinet responsibility.  

"That is a perfectly sound principle.

"It also, however, causes you to reflect as to whether you can continue to back what you believe to be a flawed decision.

"In the light of the furore over the RFO's, the board is due to meet again tomorrow to examine again the executive's conclusions on regular funding. "Both its remaining members, and the executive, are acutely aware of how important it is to be responsive to genuine concerns and I believe they will be. 

READ MORE: Emergency board meeting as Creative Scotland to discuss controversial funding decisions

"When all this blew up, I was bemused to read one critic suggest that the board was stuffed with consultants.

"In fact there is a very wide range of experience of the arts around the table, including people who are practising artists as well as those  from the arts education sector.  

"They come to their Creative Scotland role as unpaid volunteers with sufficient passion for Scotland's culture to offer their time and talents. Nobody on the board joined to become a saboteur.  Similarly the  organisation itself boasts people with enormous commitment to the arts community.  They  have endured a very turbulent few months."

Ben Thomson, the Interim Chair of Creative Scotland said: "We can confirm that Board members Ruth Wishart and Maggie Kinloch have taken the decision to stand down from the board of Creative Scotland.

"Both have made significant contribution to the work of Creative Scotland and to arts and culture in Scotland more broadly and the board would like to thank them for their work over the last few years."

He added: "This includes their contribution to our recently published decisions on Regular Funding 2018-21. These decisions were arrived at through a clear and careful process, involving Creative Scotland’s highly dedicated specialist staff and leadership team, with final decisions being signed off unanimously by the Board.

"Decisions were announced on 25 January.

"As we have publicly stated, given the strength of feedback and reaction to this announcement, we are bringing forward the next Creative Scotland Board meeting to take stock and review the options available, and to find a positive way forward for the people and organisations we support as well as Creative Scotland and our Staff.”