RICHARD Leonard is on the brink of a coup today after key members of his Holyrood team are publicly moving against him.

MSPs Jenny Marra and Daniel Johnson have added their names to those calling for Leonard to stand down as Scottish Labour leader.

Their rebellion comes as James Kelly revealed this morning he has quit as justice spokesman amid fears the party would "struggle to recover" if Leonard lead it into the Holyrood election.

In a separate development Marra used an interview in The Times today to call on Leonard to quit as the firing gun starts on a campaign to oust him.

READ MORE: Labour MSP quits shadow cabinet and urges Richard Leonard to resign

Then Scottish Labour MSP Daniel Johnson gave his support to Kelly and Marra.

Johnson (below) tweeted: "I have attempted to raise my concerns and make constructive suggestions. These have gone unheeded and there has been no change in approach or performance. Continuing like this will be disastrous for our party and is why I no longer have confidence in Richard Leonard’s leadership."

He added: "It is not easy speaking out but my colleagues Jenny Marra and James Kelly have done the right thing."

In his letter Kelly blasted Leonard's leadership and said the party risked "a catastrophic result" at the Holyrood election in May if he remained as leader.

"Such poor ratings would produce a catastrophic result from which the party would struggle to recover," his letter stated.

"The interests of the Scottish Labour Party are the key consideration in the conclusion I have reached."

He posted his resignation letter this morning on Twitter receiving support from significant activists.

Susan Dalgety, a leading Labour activist and former communications adviser to first minister Jack McConnell, tweeted her support: "Kudos to @JennyMarra and  @JamesKellyLab for fighting to save Scottish Labour. Internal battles are never pretty, but sometimes they are absolutely necessary."

Pamela Nash, the chief executive of Scotland in Union and a former Labour MP, was among party figures to like his Kelly's tweet.

Kelly led a delegation of Labour MSPs who spoke to the Scottish Labour boss last month urging him to go "for the sake of the party".

Rhoda Grant, the Labour MSP and party's deputy finance spokesman in Holyrood, was a rare voice of support.

She rallied behind Leonard and called for the party to unite behind him.

In a series of tweets, she said it was his campaigning work which led the First Minister to support the principle of a National Care Service.

"Richard Leonard was elected leader of Scottish Labour less than three years ago with the overwhelming backing of members and affiliated unions," she said.

"Yesterday, because of Richard Leonard’s tireless campaigning, the Scottish Government announced that it would support the principal of a National Care Service, a Scottish Labour policy for a decade.

"The crisis facing our country requires bold thinking and it requires a united Scottish Labour Party, under the leadership of Richard Leonard, fighting for the real change we need."