A Scottish Labour councillor in North Lanarkshire has quit after becoming dissatisfied with the way the party dealt with criminal allegations against a former colleague.

Gary O’Rorke was unhappy Labour took three weeks to suspend fellow councillor David Fagan, who was charged with alleged child pornography offences on September 7th.

The chief executive of North Lanarkshire council was informed of the “broad nature” of the charges against Mr Fagan, but not the specifics, on September 8, and informed council leader Jim Logue on the same date.

It was reported in the Herald that Scottish Labour general secretary Brian Roy was also told about the arrest, but not the specific charges, on the same day as Mr Logue.

Mr Roy only learned of the detail of the charges on September 29th and Mr Fagan was suspended on the same day.

The suspension came around a week after a keenly-fought by election in Coatbridge that Labour won by less than 200 votes.

Mr O’Rorke, who represents Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig, said he was angry with Labour’s leadership in North Lanarkshire on a number of fronts and confirmed he had “no faith” in the hierarchy.

He confirmed that the delays in suspending Mr Fagan and in informing Labour members of the group about the allegations were factors behind his decision.

He also said: “I can no longer be in the Labour group in North Lanarkshire and had no choice but to tender my resignation. My family has been steeped in the Labour party over generations. I did not want to leave.”

A Scottish Labour spokesman said: "We wish Councillor O'Rorke well in the future."

An SNP spokesperson said: “Labour have been unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for their failure to immediately suspend Mr Fagan, and Cllr O'Rorke can hardly have been the only person in the party unhappy at these staggering revelations.

“Mr Fagan is facing serious criminal proceedings and must be afforded the presumption of innocence while the case is ongoing - but the public should know why voters were kept in the dark about the circumstances during a local by-election.”

Mr Fagan has not appeared in court over the charges.

A spokesperson for the Crown Office said: “The Procurator Fiscal has received a report concerning a 52 year-old male in connection with alleged incidents said to have occurred between 25 May and 30 June 2016.

“The report remains under consideration.”