A Glasgow Labour MP has quit a high-level position in the party and issued an apology after he put a video linking Alex Salmond to Hitler on YouTube.

Tom Harris, the Labour MP for Glasgow South, has resigned from his position of leading a review into how the party use social media.

The video, which runs just under three minutes and is entitled Joan's Downfall, was posted on YouTube. It has attracted around 5000 views since it went up on the internet at the weekend.

On Saturday the MP linked to it on social network website Twitter to his almost 12,000 followers saying: "Don't know if this will play, but here's the fruits of a wet, cold Saturday afternoon spent without the kids"

On Monday morning, the video was still available to watch on YouTube and a link to the YouTube account was on Mr Harris's official website.

It features the final scene of the German film Downfall, a movie about the last days of Adolf Hitler. The subtitles have been changed, with Adolph Hitler apparently portraying Alex Salmond.

In the original film the scene shows high-ranking Nazi generals telling an increasingly unhinged Hitler that he is on the verge of losing the war.

In this version the generals pass on information like: "Your official biographer, Joan McAlpine, has said that if you don't vote SNP, you hate Scotland."

Hitler replies with comments like: "We've spent millions of SoutarPounds trying to bury our reputation for tartan jingoism" and "First we've got Posh Boy driving his tanks onto my lawn and then I have to tell the whole country the top secret date for my secret referendum."

The film has previously been used as source material by many YouTube users in the past to parody incidents such as football relegations or X Factor results.

Tom Harris said: "Having spoken to Johann Lamont, I have decided to step down from leading the party's social media review. The video I posted has been a well-worn joke used to parody a range of public figures.

"However context is everything and in the context of Johann's and my desire to improve the level of political debate on social media and the context of Joan McAlpine's much more serious statements about all political opponents of the SNP being anti-Scottish, my actions have been an unhelpful distraction for which I apologise."

A Scottish Labour spokesperson added: "Tom Harris did the decent thing after a lapse of judgement. It is about time that Joan McAlpine does the right thing and apologises for her much more serious error of judgement in saying that anyone who opposes the SNP is anti-Scottish.

"By her own logic, she must see that she regards the majority of Scots as anti-Scottish. If she doesn’t do the decent thing then Alex Salmond should sack her as ministerial aide."

A number of other users have left comments on the footage on YouTube, including: "Quite probabaly the unfunniest thing I've ever seen on Youtube. Tom, leave the satire to those who are actually funny."

Another says "This is raciest (sic) in every way shape and form not just to the snp but to the Scottish people."

Others are more favourable, including: "A little clunky, but still the funniest thing I've seen out of a politician this side of the 2010 election. Nice work, Tom." and "This may be Tom Harris's greatest contribution to democracy."

While one says "Very amusing! I see there is as usual many people without a sense of humour", another says "Sorry you lost your job but you just can't make jokes like this in your position."

Mr Harris had stood for Labour's Scottish leadership position and previous to his political career he was a journalist and involved in public relations.