Miliband and Darling blame Scottish Labour for defeat

At the same meeting, former chancellor Alistair Darling also criticised Scottish Labour and claimed the party at Holyrood had to "recognise that it has lost some of its core vote to the SNP".

Labour sources at Westminster told The Scotsman that UK Labour leader Mr Miliband and Mr Darling blamed the party's organisation in Scotland for the heavy election defeat and said the problem was it had nothing to offer the Scottish people.

The comments from the UK Labour leader and Mr Darling are significant, as they are a break from the party line that Labour lost the election because large numbers of Liberal Democrat supporters moved to the SNP.

The scathing criticism of Scottish Labour came as the party's depleted group of MSPs held an emergency summit to discuss the election result at the party's John Smith House headquarters in Glasgow yesterday.

Duncan McNeil, chairman of the Labour Group at Holyrood, said that the party needed to "regroup" and "learn the lessons" of its defeat.

He said: "Clearly the election result was very disappointing for Labour and we lost many good colleagues, but the new Labour group met and has a determination and vigour to perform our role as an opposition to maximum effect.

"Clearly we need to reflect and understand why people voted so differently last week to last year.

"We will regroup, learn the lessons we must, listen to the people who did not support us, and of course hold the government to account.

"Every government needs a responsible opposition, and that is precisely the role we will play."

Meanwhile, possible leadership contenders to succeed Iain Gray have yet to declare whether they will stand.

Candidates could include health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie, the party's deputy leader Johann Lamont and Eastwood MSP Ken Macintosh. Mr Macintosh and Ms Lamont have both said they would not "rule out" standing.