Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

New leader admits Kezia Dugdale is AWOL in Australia for TV show

Kezia Dugdale
Kezia Dugdale

Kezia Dugdale was denied permission from Labour chiefs to jet off to Australia to take part in the reality TV show “I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!”, it has emerged.

Richard Leonard, who was elected as Scottish Labour leader on Saturday, said his predecessor had sought approval before heading to the jungle.

Ms Dugdale, who unexpectedly quit as party leader in August, is due to appear as a contestant on the programme despite permission having been refused.

However, he added that he was “not persuaded” that the Lothian MSP should be immediately suspended from the party, saying a “proper discussion” was required on any sanctions.

UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has already said that suspension would not be appropriate, arguing that it was Ms Dugdale’s choice to take part in the TV programme, which also includes boxer Amir Khan, Boris Johnson’s father Stanley and The Saturdays’ singer Vanessa White.

Mr Leonard told BBC radio: “I’ve said over the weekend that we need to consider it and I’ve also expressed my own personal disappointment that that was a decision she has chosen to make.

“There are issues, not just the fact that she is there and the kind of programme it is and people’s view of that, there is also a question about whether she got permission to do it.”

Pressed on whether Aberdeen-born Ms Dugdale had been given the party’s backing to take part in the show, he stated: “My understanding is she sought permission and wasn’t given permission.”

Mr Leonard added: “There is going to need to be a proper discussion about it, the circumstances around it and whether it is appropriate to take action or not.

“I am not persuaded the immediate step that the Labour Party needs to take is to suspend Kezia from membership of the Labour Party but I do think we need to have a discussion about it.”

Ms Dugdale’s decision to take part in the programme prompted an angry reaction from many within the party, with fellow Labour MSP Neil Findlay describing the move as “utterly ludicrous”.

But Ms Dugdale’s partner, the SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth, suggested on social media the former Labour leader was being bullied by some of those in the party.