LABOUR has been accused of committing an “affront to democracy” after a group of the party’s peers supposedly helped a leading critic of Jeremy Corbyn secure a key Westminster role.

Party sources have suggested that an attempt, led by the leader’s office, was made to thwart a bid by Ian Murray, the former Shadow Scottish Secretary, to secure the post of Chairman of the Scottish Parliamentary Labour Party.

The Edinburgh MP, who last year resigned from the Shadow Cabinet, has been a vocal critic of Mr Corbyn, accusing him at one point of “destroying the party”.

Insiders claimed that when Mr Murray put his name forward for the Chairmanship of the SPLP, there was an attempt by some of the new intake of Scottish Labour MPs to install their colleague Danielle Rowley, the MP for Midlothian, instead.

However, at a key SPLP meeting, some 20 moderate Labour peers turned up to foil the so-called “Corbyn coup” and ensure Mr Murray secured the Chairman’s role. Ms Rowley, daughter of Alex Rowley, deputy leader of Scottish Labour, and regarded as a loyal supporter of Mr Corbyn, secured the role of SPLP Vice Chairwoman.

It was further suggested by party sources that Ms Rowley had sought the leading SPLP role because it would have given her a seat on Labour's Scottish Executive and enabled her to help any attempt to replace Kezia Dugdale as Scottish Labour leader with her father.

Ms Rowley has forcefully denied the claims, branding them “a load of rubbish,” while a spokesman for Mr Corbyn’s office has insisted neither it nor Mr Corbyn had anything to do with elections to the SPLP.

But Dennis Canavan, the former Labour MP and Independent MSP, pointed out how when he was SPLP Chairman in the early 1980s there were 44 Scottish Labour MPs and that a few Scottish Labour peers would occasionally attend and speak at the meetings.

“Now the number of Scottish Labour peers is more than three times the number of Labour MPs representing Scottish constituencies and, as a result, the non-elected members of the SPLP can easily out-vote the elected representatives.

“That is an affront to democracy and should not be tolerated in any party, especially one describing itself as democratic socialist,” declared Mr Canavan.

He added: “It is well over a century since Keir Hardie, founding father of the Labour Party, called for the abolition of the House of Lords. Now Labour uses it to undermine democracy.”

The SNP also seized on the disputed claims of a failed “Corbyn coup,” saying they showed Labour was “in chaos” after drafting in unelected peers to protect Ms Dugdale’s ally.

“Kezia Dugdale’s authority as Labour leader appears to be absolutely shot, needing a staged intervention by unelected Lords able to get her close ally into a key internal position,” declared George Adam, the Nationalist MSP.

He added: “She should get a grip on her party and join us in fighting to protect jobs, household incomes and investment by opposing Theresa May’s and Jeremy Corbyn’s disastrous extreme Brexit.”