Labour deputy leadership hopeful Ian Murray said he does not want to see an independent Scottish version of the party.

Currently, the Scottish and UK Labour parties are linked, but Murray claims the party north of the border has the most autonomy of any UK iteration of Labour.

His comments come just a few days after Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard told the PA news agency it would be his party which would make the decision on their final position on Scottish independence.

Speaking on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Murray - the only Labour MP in Scotland - was asked if he believes the party should be responsible for its entire policy position, to which he replied: "Absolutely no."

He added: "We're a UK party and I think we have to act as a UK party.

"What I would do is make sure that the parties have all the autonomy they require.

"The Scottish Labour Party actually has more autonomy than any other part of the UK Labour Party, but it isn't used.

"Let's use that autonomy, and that takes away any issues around becoming a separate party."

The candidate added that general secretaries of the party's regional groups need power to make decisions in a bid to ensure last month's election is not repeated, adding: "Never again should we go into a general election campaign where it's run by London and others around the country are screaming out for resources and targeting.

"We shouldn't be having seats lost by several hundred (votes) when there are thousands of activists in seats we'll never win."

Murray also said Labour would have to "re-connect" with areas across the UK, including Scotland, to ensure a return to power for the party.

He said: "One of the lessons of the 2019 general election, not just in Scotland but across the rest of the UK, is the public didn't see the Labour Party as being credible.

"We have to talk to those communities again, and that's one of the major planks of my proposal to be deputy leader of the party."