Scottish Labour has been urged to overhaul its vetting processes after a former soldier who assaulted a pregnant woman was approved as a potential candidate.

Alex Tiffin was given the green light to contest a Westminster selection - despite him being charged with a violent offence.

A party source said Tiffin did not disclose the case when he put himself forward as a candidate.

The Daily Record previously revealed that Tiffin was attempting to become Labour’s candidate in Ross, Skye and Lochaber, even though he had sparked a terror scare.

The Scots Muslim found himself in court in 2017 after sending messages to a member of his mosque in the wake of the London Bridge attack.

Prosecutor Roderick Urquhart told Inverness Sheriff Court: “The first of these messages indicated that he was drunk, but the third said, ‘I decided to kill the unbelievables’, followed by a text stating ‘Unbelievers’ and another saying, ‘Allahu Akbar’.”

However, Tiffin was admonished after a police investigation established no links to terror groups. “The conclusion has been that he was an idiot, not a terrorist,” Urquhart said.

Tiffin said his offence was a result of mental illness and he passed Labour’s candidate vetting.

In a separate case, Tiffin, who lives in the Highlands, admitted this week to assaulting a woman.

His trial began by him denying a total of five charges, but after his victim gave evidence he admitted to one assault incorporating two incidents.

Tiffin admitted seizing the woman in December 2014, pushing her on to a bed and covering her mouth with one hand and holding her neck with the other.

He also pulled her off a couch, which caused her to fall to the floor in June 2017. Sentence was deferred until November 14.

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An insider said: “The party desperately needs to strengthen their vetting process to avoid any more embarrassing incidents like this.”

Tiffin did not respond to a request for comment.