ALMOST half of people who voted LibDem in May’s General Election believe Alistair Carmichael should resign for his role in the “Frenchgate” memo leak, a new poll has found.

A Panelbase survey for Wings Over Scotland found that little more than a third of Scotland’s remaining LibDem supporters - just 36 per cent - think Carmichael should continue his term as MP for Shetland and Orkney, with 49 per cent believing he should resign his role.

Fifteen per cent of those asked were undecided.

Across supporters of all parties, only 14 per cent believed Carmichael should continue in his role without giving his constituents the chance to re-elect him.

Unsurprisingly, just 1 per cent of SNP voters thought the disgraced MP should remain in his position.

Of those LibDem voters who thought Carmichael should resign, 40 per cent thought he should stand in the resulting by-election.

The Frenchgate memo, which was leaked to the Telegraph in the run up to the General Election, contained false details of a conversation between First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and French Ambassador Sylvie Bermann.

In the memo it was alleged that Sturgeon had told the French Ambassador that she wanted David Cameron to return as Prime Minister, a claim that was strongly refuted by both parties involved, who said that no preference was expressed.

An inquiry - which did not publish its results till more than two weeks after the General Election - found that both Carmichael and his special advisor Euan Roddin were complicit in the leaking of the document.

In an interview directly after the memo was published, Carmichael denied all knowledge of the incident, saying the first time he heard about the memo was when he was phoned by a journalist.

Carmichael, Scotland’s only LibDem MP, repeatedly shunned calls for him to resign. He did apologise publicly, saying he would refuse the severance pay for his time as a minister, but said he would not resign from his position as an MP.

Legal action against Carmichael is intended to be pursued by several of his constituents, with a crowd-funding appeal already raising over £60,000 to meet costs. Organisers of the “People vs Carmichael” campaign thanked the near 4000 people who gave money to the cause, donating an average of £15 each, with over 20,000 signing a petition calling for his resignation.

A date for the case is likely to be set this week, with Jonathan Mitchell QC, who is representing the petitioners, saying: “This is a case which to a large extent depends on issues of law and not, as is often the case, simply allegations of disputed fact.”

An SNP spokesperson said: “Alistair Carmichael was caught red-handed authorising the leak of false information as part of an election dirty tricks campaign. Nicola Sturgeon accepted his apology but the fact remains that he contested the election in May on false pretences – and even Lib Dem voters believe he should do the honourable thing and resign his seat.

“The people of Orkney and Shetland need an MP who is fully focused on representing them and the needs of the constituency – not one who is fixated with saving his own skin.”

There has also been controversy surrounding the Scotland and Cabinet Offices, with repeated Freedom of Information requests submitted by our sister paper, the Sunday Herald being refused.

The Cabinet Office would not reveal the date which Carmichael and Roddin admitted their role in the leaking of the “Frenchgate” document, saying that it could “seriously impact on future investigations”.

The Panelbase poll gave respondents four options: that Carmichael should resign and not stand in the resulting by- election; that he should resign and then stand for re-election; he should not resign; don’t know.

Support for independence was at 47 per cent of those who had made up their mind, while 53 per cent preferred to stay in the Union.

The poll quizzed 1002 people from across Scotland. Last night, the LibDems refused to comment its findings.