LABOUR bosses have indicated the inquiry into a complaint made against former Scottish caretaker leader Alex Rowley is ongoing after it was reported the party had suggested bringing it to a close unless his accuser disclosed her whole statement to him.

The politician stood aside from the interim leadership position last month and the Labour whip was later withdrawn from him after his former partner came forward with a complaint saying his behaviour towards her had been abusive.

Rowley has “totally” rejected the accusations and has said he will “take all necessary steps” to clear his name. He was absent from Holyrood for a period after the allegations were made, but returned last week and sits as an independent MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.

He took up the interim leader’s post in August after former leader Kezia Dugdale , for whom he was deputy, dramatically stood down following a visit to Scotland by UK leader Jeremy Corbyn, whom she had failed to back in the two UK leadership contests.

Dugdale and the two candidates in the contest to succeed her – Richard Leonard and Anas Sarwar – had all called for Rowley to be suspended while the allegations were investigated.

It was yesterday claimed the woman at the centre of the case was given 18 hours by the party to hand over full details to the politician and his lawyers.

Commenting on the report, a party spokesman said: “The Labour Party’s sexual harassment procedure is very clear that anonymised copies of the complaint, and response to that complaint, will be put before the National Executive Committee’s sexual harassment panel for consideration as to whether further action should be taken.

“The timetable is communicated to both the complainant and respondent from the start of the process as a matter of fairness and natural justice for both parties.”

Former Fife Council leader Rowley, who is associated with the left wing of the party, previously worked as an education official for the TUC, and acted as election agent for the former prime minister Gordon Brown for five years. He became a MSP in 2014 after winning the Cowdenbeath by-election following the death of the Labour MSP Helen Eadie.

The constituency was taken by the SNP’s Annabelle Ewing in May 2016, with Rowley remaining in Holyrood seat by securing automatic top ranking of Labour’s Mid Scotland and Fife list through his deputy leader post.

He was elected Scottish Labour’s deputy leader in 2015, beating centrist candidates Gordon Matheson, the former leader of Glasgow City Council, and ex-MSP Richard Baker.

Last night Leonard addressed the Westminster Parliamentary Labour Party, whose members include Rowley’s daughter Danielle, MP for Midlothian, telling them Scotland was key to delivering a Labour government in the next General Election. It was his first address to the PLP since becoming leader on November 18.

Polls carried out since his election suggest support for Labour has grown, putting the party back in second place behind the SNP.

Leonard also held a series of meetings at Westminster before addressing Labour MPs, telling them he can make the party an alternative to the SNP and Tories.

Over the weekend it was suggested Leonard may have been delaying the unveiling of his shadow front bench team at Holyrood as he was waiting to give Rowley a job.

“It is perplexing,” a Labour source told Scotland on Sunday. “There has been no explanation as to why there has been this delay. There is a theory that they are waiting for Rowley to be cleared so that he can be given something big.”

During the leadership contest Leonard said he would give Sarwar a position in his frontbench team if he won.