A Labour MSP will quit Holyrood after a damaging row over her continued friendship with a convicted sex offender.
Pam Duncan-Glancy will not contest the election after party leader Anas Sarwar effectively issued her with an ultimatum to cut her ties with a disgraced former councillor.
Sean Morton, a former Labour councillor in Moray, was once considered a rising star in the party but he confessed in 2017 to possessing indecent images including pictures of girls under 15.
He pled guilty and was given a community payback order which included 140 hours of unpaid work.
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He and Ms Duncan-Glancy were lifelong friends at the time of his conviction, but it was revealed earlier this month they were still friends and had dinner to celebrate the MSP’s recent birthday.
Ms Duncan-Glancy admitted a “serious lapse in professional judgement” and resigned as Mr Sarwar’s education spokeswoman weeks ago.
However, she did not say she would sever her ties with Morton and party sources questioned whether she could continue as Labour’s candidate for Glasgow Kelvin and Maryhill.
In a fresh statement, Ms Duncan Glancy has said she will be standing down as a candidate.
"I am announcing today that I am withdrawing as a candidate for the Scottish Parliamentary election next year," she said.
"While this has obviously been a very difficult decision - and it is the greatest honour of my life to represent Glasgow - I do not wish for a personal friendship to become a distraction.
"I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve, and I remain committed to returning a Scottish Labour government next year.
“I promised in my first speech in parliament to give a voice to the voiceless. I will go on doing that.
"I will continue to fight for my constituents for the next five months, as I have for the last five years. And I will keep fighting for the causes I believe in."
Her decision came after Mr Sarwar made clear the friendship must not continue.
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In an interview with the Record, Mr Sarwar said: “As soon as I became aware of that, I was deeply concerned as you'd imagine. I think it's important to stress that no one is suggesting there was any illegality from Pam herself, but it wasn't appropriate to keep that friendship going.
“It was right that she stepped down from her position and apologised for keeping that friendship going, and our expectation is and our belief is, that that friendship will now come to an end.”
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: “Pam Duncan-Glancy has withdrawn as a parliamentary candidate for the Glasgow Kelvin and Maryhill constituency.
“She has taken the decision to step aside as she does not wish recent stories to become a distraction from the work of the party or its priorities.
“The selection process will now be reopened so that a replacement candidate can be chosen.”
An SNP spokesman said: “Labour dragged their heels on this - Anas Sarwar should’ve removed Duncan-Glancy as a candidate as soon as this scandal came to light.”
A party source told the Record Ms Duncan-Glancy’s links to Morton undermined Mr Sarwar’s criticisms of the SNP on law and order.
Concerns about the relationship between Ms Duncan-Glancy and Morton had first been raised with Scottish Labour by a whistleblower on November 13.
Following her resignation from the Scottish Labour frontbench at Holryood, Paul O'Kane MSP took up the role as spokesman on education and equalities, while Claire Baker MSP became the spokeswoman for social security.
Mr Morton praised his close bond with Ms Duncan-Glancy during a Labour conference speech in 2015.
He said: "“She's an inspiration to me and to many people in this party. I grew up with Pam.
"We went to school together in the village that I now represent as a councillor. We were at a school, this school.
"A couple of geeks sitting in the corner, we struck up a conversation, and 24 years later, it's still going on."
