Scottish Labour is set to open an investigation into alleged racist comments made towards Glasgow MSP Anas Sarwar by two party members.

The politician said a senior Labour councillor told him last year that he would not back his bid to be the party's leader as voters would not elect a "brown, Muslin P***".

Another Labour member, Sarwar alleges, told him she could not support his campaign after she saw his wife Furheen wearing a hijab.

The comments came to light during an interview with the Daily Record.

Sarwar lost out in his bid to become Scottish Labour leader to Richard Leonard in November last year.

He says he does not believe his campaign failed due to racism but has chosen to speak out to raise awareness about the issue and Islamophobia.

He told the Daily Record: "A leader of a Labour council group told me very clearly the reason that he couldn't support me in the leadership election was that, in his words, Scotland wasn't ready for a 'brown, Muslim P***'.

"When I challenged him on that, saying it was a racist, Islamophobic comment, he said that wasn't his opinion, it was his fear about what his constituents believe."

On the other member's comment, Sarwar said: "My wife wears a hijab and she said, based on the picture she saw of my wife, she couldn't vote for me in the leadership election."

The MSP said his wife "a Scot in every way possible" and that "her identity is way more than what she chooses to wear on her head".

A spokesman for the party said they will be in contact with Sarwar to help investigate the comments.

He said: "What Anas has revealed is completely unacceptable. Labour has a zero tolerance approach to any form of racism and bigotry.

"This reported behaviour falls well short of what we expect from any member or elected representative of the Labour Party.

"Labour is taking steps to ensure this issue can be thoroughly investigated, and as part of that the general secretary is contacting Anas to identify the individual involved and take appropriate action."