A WOULD-BE Labour MSP quit said he was quitting the party yesterday over his “disgust” at “discriminatory” candidate selection methods.

Retired police inspector and equalities campaigners Tom McInally claimed ethnic minority candidates were being sidelined by nepotism and a “pairing” policy that means a woman candidate must be selected for every seat contested by a man.

Mr McInally said he had decided to quit after two male ethnic minority candidates were sidelined for the Edinburgh West constituency in favour of solicitor Cat Headley because Blair Heary, an aide to Scottish Labour leader Joann Lamont, was chosen for Edinburgh Pentlands.

“At that selection meeting the other night there there was only one woman, which means that she was guaranteed to be selected,” he said.

“She is competent, but you could have a total incompetent idiot standing and she would be guaranteed a seat.”

A party spokesman rebuffed the claims, saying they had a “robust” process and had “led the way” on gender representation.