SCOTTISH LABOUR general secretary Brian Roy announced his resignation yesterday as the party’s general secretary.

The Star understands that Mr Roy, who was appointed by Blairite leader Jim Murphy in 2014, announced his resignation to shocked party staffers yesterday morning.

In a subsequent statement, he said: “After 12 years working for the Labour Party under four UK Labour leaders and seven Scottish leaders, it is time for me to move on to new challenges.

“Having been at the very centre of Scottish Labour during the most turbulent political times, I have worked hard to unite the party, drive our campaigns forward, develop and diversify our candidates and modernise our campaign machine.

“It has been a privilege to work with Labour prime ministers and a Labour first minister, with many leaders in between, and I sincerely wish Richard Leonard and Jeremy Corbyn the very best as they prepare to win again as a party of government.”

Mr Roy’s resignation marks the end of a turbulent week in Scottish Labour after shadow chancellor John McDonnell told an audience at the Edinburgh Fringe that a Labour government would not attempt to block a second Scottish independence referendum.

This caused consternation among senior Labour figures in Scotland who said that Scottish Labour’s policy was to resist any second independence referendum.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard, who was elected on an anti-referendum ticket, relayed his views to Mr McDonnell earlier this week.

The largely right-wing group of MSPs at Holyrood condemned Mr McDonnell publicly.

But Labour sources told the Star that Mr Roy’s resignation had nothing to do with the row, labelling such suggestions “simply untrue.”

A source said: “At the end of the day, Richard Leonard was elected on the promise of real change in Scottish Labour, and he clearly has to change the party operationally as well as politically.”

In a statement, Jeremy Corbyn — whose Scotland adviser Tommy Kane is expected to step into the vacant role, according to The National — said: “Brian Roy’s experience and knowledge has been invaluable to Scottish Labour, and to me personally, and I thank him for his dedication to our party and our movement.

“Brian is Labour through and through, and his charity cycle ride for Palestine is a great example of his commitment to international solidarity and justice.”