THE decision on who becomes Scotland’s next MEP has been delayed amid claims of a “stitch up” by Ruth Davidson and the Scottish Conservative leadership.

Mary Pitcaithly, the regional returning officer for the European election, has granted Tory activist Belinda Don a 10-day extension to hold talks with her legal team on the issue.

Ms Don, who says Ms Davidson is being undemocratic by trying to deny her the job, has warned she may go to court to stop the Tories approving anyone else.

The SNP said the Tories were fighting “like rats in a sack”.

Ms Don wants to fill the Brussels vacancy left by Scotland’s last Tory MEP, Dr Ian Duncan, moving to the House of Lords.

Ordinarily, his seat would be taken by Ms Don, as party members ranked her second on the Tory list presented to the electorate at the 2014 European election.

However, despite Tory HQ in London initially saying she would be certified as the MEP, the Scottish party’s management board, which includes Ms Davidson, intervened to block her.

Last Friday, Ms Don was told she would not be certified as the party’s choice after all.

It is understood Ms Davidson would like Edinburgh businessman Iain McGill to get the Brussels job instead, even though he was ranked fifth by the Tory grassroots.

Ms Pitcaithly had given Ms Don until today to get a certificate from the party, but the deadline has now been postponed to August 25.

Ms Don said the Scottish Tory leadership’s actions were "absolutely unacceptable", adding: "In every other European country, this attempt would be dismissed out of hand. I was under the illusion we lived in a democracy - clearly I was mistaken.”

Ms Don and Ms Davidson have a fractious history.

A former assistant to an MEP for 12 years, Ms Don opposed Ms Davidson becoming Scottish leader in 2011 and has accused her of favouring her own clique.

Ms Davidson is understood to regard Ms Don as “stuck up” and not active enough in the party to deserve the Brussels job, which would disappear after Brexit in March 2019.

Ms Pitcaithly confirmed she had agreed a “reasonable” extension at the request of Ms Don's lawyers.

A Scottish Tory spokesman said: “The process for selecting a replacement MEP is ongoing, and as such we are unable to comment further.”