A SCOTTISH Labour MSP has resigned from a party role over her friendship with a convicted sex offender.
Pam Duncan-Glancy has quit as Scottish Labour's education spokesperson after details of her friendship with disgraced former councillor Sean Morton were revealed, the Daily Record reports.
Morton, a former Moray councillor, confessed in 2017 to possessing indecent images of girls under 15 and of a couple having sex with a dog.
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He pled guilty and was given a community payback order which included 140 hours of unpaid work.
He was also given a three-year supervision order and was placed on the sex offenders register for three years.
The Record reports Morton was a "life-long" friend of Duncan-Glancy at the time, stating that the pair remain "good friends".
Despite the conviction, the paper reports Morton and Duncan-Glancy are "believed to be in frequent contact" with each other, and reportedly celebrated Duncan-Glancy's birthday with "dinner and drinks".
A source close to the Duncan-Glancy told the Record the MSP has performed "a caring role for Morton in an attempt to help him get his life back on track after the conviction".
In a letter of resignation addressed to Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Duncan-Glancy wrote: "I am writing today to formally resign, with immediate effect, from my position as Scottish Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Member for Education and Skills.
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"It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve in this role and to support you and the party as it seeks to give Scotland the new direction it so desperately needs.
"However, recent stories about relationships in my personal life have made clear a serious lapse in professional judgement.
"I recognise that, as a direct consequence of this failure, it is no longer tenable for me to continue to serve in my current role.
"I will do everything I can to support you and your leadership going forward."
In response, Sarwar said: "You have acknowledged a serious error of judgement. However, you have acted and taken the appropriate decision, and I thank you for that.
"During your time as a Member of the Scottish Parliament, you have worked hard to represent your constituents, to hold the SNP Government to account and to help shape Scottish Labour’s positive alternative for May 2026. You can be proud of the contribution you have made in this role."
Duncan-Glancy's resignation relates to her party role, not as an an MSP.
Scottish Labour's Paul O'Kane has been appointed the party's shadow education and equalities secretary, while Claire Baker has become the party's shadow social security secretary.
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