ANOTHER three Labour peers have joined calls for Richard Leonard to step down from his role as leader of the Scottish party.

Former defence secretary and NATO secretary general George Robertson, former MI6 officer Meta Ramsay and former Scottish secretary Helen Liddell have urged for him to go in a bid to "begin the restoration" of the party.

In a letter to Leonard, which has also been signed by Labour peer George Foulkes, it was stated that it is "clear to us and to many within the party that you have, sadly, not been able to make an impact with the Scottish public".

They said they were contacting him as “members of the Scottish Labour Party with many years of continuous service to the party”.

It read: “We are sure you would wish to do everything possible to ensure the return of Labour Governments at both Holyrood and Westminster.

"We all know, whatever great policies we have, they will only benefit the people whom we seek to help and who desperately need our help, if we form Governments at both levels.

READ MORE: Labour: Keir Starmer ally tells Richard Leonard to consider his position

“In spite of your best efforts over the past three years our support in Scotland has been falling dramatically, resulting in the loss of seats at every level and the prospects for the Scottish Parliament election next year look even worse.

“It is clear to us and to many within the party, that you have, sadly, not been able to make an impact with the Scottish public and your recent response to criticism by intensifying your campaign appears to have resulted in no improvement.

“We are therefore asking you to do what is best for the party, and the country, and consider whether continuing as leader of Scottish Labour is in the interests of both the party and the people we seek to serve.

“We have no doubt about your sincerity and that is why we hope you will recognise our plea not as any criticism of your personal commitment but just a recognition of the reality we now face and what needs to be done urgently to begin the restoration of our party.”

Calls for Leonard, who has been leader of Scottish Labour for three years, to quit the role have been mounting recently, with four of his MSPs - James Kelly, Jenny Marra, Daniel Johnson and Mark Griffin - suggesting he step down.

READ MORE: Richard Leonard faces civil war as Labour MSPs revolt over his leadership

Poor ratings and a loss of both its MEPs and six of its seven MPs in last year's General Election have resulted in his abilities being called into question.

A damning poll also revealed that he was not recognisable amongst Scots, with 53% revealing that they knew too little about him to judge his performance.

Kelly quit as the party's justice spokesman in the Scottish Parliament this week, revealing that he felt Leonard was not able to take the party forward.

In response, Leonard hinted at the risk of de-selection for candidates who did not have faith in the party's future in the run-up to next year's Holyrood election.

One of Keir Starmer's frontbench MPs, Rachel Reeves, said earlier today that Leonard should "consider his decision".

She told Sky News: “I think that Richard Leonard needs to think about his position. The opinion polls in Scotland are pretty dire for Labour, we’ve got important elections next year, but those are decisions for Scottish Labour.

“I think he needs to consider his position and do what he thinks is right for Scotland and for Scottish Labour.”