RICHARD Leonard has branded his own MSPs “despicable” as he launched a desperate bid to stave off a party coup.

Rebel MSPs have threatened court action force a leadership challenge against the embattled Scottish Labour chief.

But he warned the cabal that they have underestimated his resolve in a furious statement delivered to the party’s Holyrood group.

The statement reads: "I feel I need to remind a small group within our parliamentary group, who have called on me to step down and who have repeatedly attacked me in public, and have briefed against me: you have underestimated my resolve and underestimated the mandate I received from Scottish Labour party members just under three years ago to lead the Scottish Labour party. You have underestimated me.

"There is no democratic legitimacy to override the wishes of Scottish Labour party members, who keep telling me that it would be a dereliction of duty for the Labour party to turn in on itself at the very point when the country is facing an unprecedented health, economic and jobs crisis.

"At the very point that we are winning the political argument on jobs and a Jobs Guarantee Scheme. In a National Care Service where there is no place for the profit motive and when we are exposing the failures of government during the pandemic in care homes. On the U-turn over the school results fiasco.”

READ MORE: Scottish Labour rebels refuse to rule out court action to oust Richard Leonard

Leonard added: “Months out from an election to hear MSPs threatening to take the party to court when we know that we are up and against it with the resources and cash of the SNP and the Tories I find astonishing, even despicable.”

Five MSPs – James Kelly, Daniel Johnson, Jenny Marra, Mark Griffin and another unnamed representative – have joined the cabal.

They say the support of 20% of the parliamentary group is sufficient to force a leadership contest. However, Scottish Labour general secretary Michael Sharpe said he is "not aware of any such precedent on this issue" for the Scottish party.

That claim was branded “absurd” by Johnson, who warned the dispute could end up in the courts.