ANAS SARWAR has criticised his opponents for shining the spotlight on a family business that employs workers on poverty pay.

The defeated centrist candidate for the Scottish Labour leadership said it was “unfortunate” that some Scottish Labour activists had attempted to make the contest “about my family.”

After it was confirmed that his family’s wholesale firm did not recognise unions and paid workers below the £8.45-an-hour living wage, Mr Sarwar passed his minority shareholding in the company on to his children.

He had previously suggested the firm’s practices were justifiable because the living wage was “voluntary.” Companies should instead be forced to pay a living wage, he said.

Asked by the Star if he thought the row had played a role in his defeat, Mr Sarwar said: “The unfortunate thing is this — it’s clear there were some who wanted to make this either a referendum on Jeremy Corbyn or to try and make it about my family.

“The reality is that I didn’t expect there to be a leadership election.”

He said he was not bothered about putting the shares into a trust fund for his kids because he was “dedicating my life to the Labour Party and to Scotland.

“When it became clear that my shareholding in my family’s business was an issue, I was more than happy to absolve myself of those shares because I chose a different life for myself from the outset.”

Mr Sarwar’s children will gain access to the shares, believed to be worth £4.8 million, on reaching adulthood.