SCOTTISH Labour was thrown into civil war today as a second member of its shadow cabinet quit in protest over Jim Murphy's remaining as leader.

MSP Alex Rowley resigned as the local government spokesman at Holyrood less than 24 hours after a tense meeting between Murphy and Labour MSPs.

In an angry letter Rowley, regarded as a key figure in the party and a close ally of Gordon Brown, said Murphy would be a "distraction" in the run up to the Scottish Parliament election next year and it was a "mistake" for him and chief of staff John McTernan to continue in their posts.

The party needed a "fundamental change in direction and strategy", he said.

"I said yesterday at the meeting of Labour MSPs that I thought your speech on Friday stating that you would stay on and lead Labour into the 2016 election was a mistake, and that it would also be a mistake for the team you put in place, including your Chief of Staff, to remain in post," Rowley said in the letter.

"I sincerely hold the view that you continuing as leader whilst not in the Scottish Parliament, and not in an elected position holding a democratic mandate, means you will become an unhelpful distraction from the real issues that Scottish Labour must focus on.

"Over the coming weeks rank and file Labour Party members must have their say on the way forward for Labour in Scotland and I want to be part of that discussion."

In the damning letter Rowley hit back too at suggestions Labour figures should not discuss the party's crisis publicly and that those who did so would be acting disloyally.

"Over the coming weeks rank and file Labour Party members must have their say on the way forward for Labour in Scotland and I want to be part of that discussion. It is clear from the discussion yesterday that dissent in public from the leadership view is perceived as disloyalty, but I am convinced we need a fundamental change in direction and strategy and therefore cannot sign up to your leadership as one of your shadow team." he wrote.

"From an early age my memories are of my parents talking about politics and the need for working people to organise and fight for a better and fairer society and that is why I joined the Labour Party. It was suggested to me at the weekend that it would be disloyal to the Labour Party if I were to speak publicly on these issues. I have given that a lot of thought and consideration and I concluded that it would be disloyal and damaging to Labour were I not to speak out. I believe now, more than ever, that we in Scotland need a strong relevant Labour Party and we will not achieve this under your leadership therefore I have no choice but to speak out."

It it the latest significant blow for Murphy after Neil Findlay resigned from the shadow cabinet at the weekend and a string of former MPs also called for him to stand down.

But the defiant leader has refused to stand down despite losing his own seat of East Renfrewshire and and 39 MPs in the most humiliating election in his party’s history which left Labour with a single Scots MP.

Today he is still clinging to his job but is set to face more bad news today with one of Britain's union Unison expected to withdraw their support for him later.

He is also to face a further challenge on Saturday at Labour's Scottish Executive Committee when he faces a no confidence motion.

Before being elected as an MSP, Rowley was a councillor in Fife and worked as an assistant, election agent and constituency manager to Gordon Brown.

Over the weekend the trade union Unite union and the train drivers' union Aslef also called on Murphy to resign.

Unite said the Labour leader should go "without delay" and warned that, otherwise, "extinction looms" for the party.

After yesterday meeting of Labour MSPs, finance spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said that the "overwhelming majority of MSPs were very clear, they want Jim Murphy and Kezia Dugdale to leader us forward into the future".