KEZIA Dugdale’s Labour colleagues have been putting the boot in over her decision to appear on I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Neil Findlay, said the decision was “utterly ludicrous” and that it “demeans politics”.

He told BBC One’s Sunday Politics: “I think it’s utterly ludicrous, a ludicrous position.

“We have a situation where we’re in the run up to the Budget in Scotland, where local government is on its knees, where the NHS is showing pressures like never before, when people’s living standards are falling and they expect their MPs MSPs, councillors, elected representatives to be in fighting on their behalf and I don’t think people would expect them to jet off around the world and sit around the camp fire eating a kangaroo’s appendage.

“I think it demeans politics when people get involved in that.

“We’ve got a pretty serious job to do, people out there are struggling and there’s huge pressures on public services and that’s the job we should be doing. I take my job very seriously and so do my colleagues and I think they would expect better.”

Dugdale’s partner, the SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth, accused Findlay of hypocrisy, taking to social media to remind him of the time he was embroiled in a sexism row when he tweeted a picture from “Dumbo” showing a large elephant’s backside, and seemingly compared it to Nicola Sturgeon.

The Lothians MSP will join the likes of boxer Amir Khan, Boris Johnson’s father Stanley and The Saturdays singer Vanessa White in the jungle for the ITV show which started last night.

The SNP’s Economy Secretary Keith Brown, was asked for his opinion on Dugdale’s decision. He told Sunday Politics: “The fundamental point in this is the commitment of parliamentarians to their primary job which is to represent people and I think that’s very important.”

He said the question of suspension was a matter for the Labour Party, not the Scottish Parliament.

Brown said: “She will not be breaching, as I understand it, any of the rules in the Scottish Parliament but it’s a question of how her party views her absence from her primary job, the day job, of being an MSP.”

Speaking in Glasgow just after he was elected leader on Saturday, Richard Leonard, who succeeded Dugdale, said he was “a bit disappointed” by the decision. He said suspension was not his initial reaction but added: ‘’I think it’s something the group will have to consider.’’

But Jeremy Corbyn told the Press Association: ‘’It’s her choice to go on I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! I don’t think it’s appropriate to suspend someone from the party for doing that, that’s her choice.’’

Dugdale has reportedly promised to donate her MSPs salary to charity while she’s in the jungle, as well as a “portion” of her appearance fee. It’s not clear how much she’ll get paid for the ITV show — though it may not be the “huge” salary reported in some papers.

Tory MP Nadine Dorries, who was on the show in 2012, was paid just £6960 while she was on the show, plus £13,268 two months later for associated interviews and photo shoots, according to the register of interests.

Admittedly, she was the first celebrity to be voted off.

Katie Price reportedly earned around £400,000 for her time on the show. Yesterday, the Sunday Herald reported that Dugdale’s register of interests in Holyrood had, until June 20, claimed all external earnings were donated directly to MND Scotland, “as a matter of principle”.

However, this was amended, and this promise was deleted, weeks before she resigned as leader.