A Labour councillor has resigned from the party and joined the Lib Dems, citing her "vehement" opposition to Scottish independence as a reason for the move.

Fiona Dryburgh, who sits on South Lanarkshire Council, said Labour's "weak" stance on Brexit and a "failure to address anti-Semitism" in the party were also factors in her decision to quit.

Ms Dryburgh becomes the second councillor from South Lanarkshire Council to have quit their party to join the Lib Dems in the space of three weeks.

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Tory councillor Mark McGeever quit his party over the leadership of Boris Johnson, calling the Prime Minister "totally unsuitable for high office".

Last week, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Labour would not seek to block a second Scottish independence referendum from being held.

In her resignation letter, Ms Dryburgh wrote: "I hereby resign my membership of the Labour Party.

"I have destroyed my membership card and cancelled my direct debit. Please pass the details of my resignation to the party headquarters.

"I would like to make it absolutely clear that I have no issues with any member of the Labour Group or the Constituency Labour Party.

"I am leaving as a direct consequence of both the direction in which the Labour Party is moving and the recent events that have occurred within the party."

Following her resignation, Ms Dryburgh said she was proud to join a "progressive party" in the Liberal Democrats.

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"My politics have not altered but the Labour Party has now moved to a place where I can no longer support them," she said.

"I am vehemently opposed to Scottish independence and I firmly believe that Britain is better off in the EU.

"As a result I have now found a new home within the Liberal Democrats.

"I am proud to join a progressive party and naturally will continue to support my constituents to the best of my ability, as I have done for more than two years."

The move was welcomed by Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie.

"Fiona will be a great addition to our growing group of councillors in South Lanarkshire," he said.

"She joins the many former Labour members who are proud to call themselves Liberal Democrats and she is representative of thousands of former Labour voters who are now backing the Liberal Democrats.

"They have been offended by Labour's decision to abandon Scotland in the UK and the EU. We are now their political home."