Former Scottish Labour MP Tom Harris is to lead the campaign to leave the EU in Scotland.

Harris, who represented the Glasgow South constituency from 2001 to 2015, says many Labour voters will be joining him in supporting a "leave" vote despite most Labour MPs supporting the "remain" campaign.

The former Labour MP believes Britain needs to leave the EU to take control of its own borders.

Writing in the Daily Record on Friday, Harris said: “If current assumptions about migration from the EU are accurate, Britain will need 880,000 more school places by 2023, 113,000 in London alone. The office of national statistics reckon we’ll need an extra 68,000 homes a year

"Let’s be absolutely clear: immigration has done a great deal of good, both economically and culturally. And it will continue to benefit us.

"But it has to be managed. That means welcoming those who have the skills we need and won’t have to resort to living on benefits. And that means taking control of our own borders.”

He defended his position on the referendum saying "it isn’t about being anti-European" but instead "it is about putting our own country, our own economy, our own people, first".

Harris, who is an outspoken critic of the UK Labour leadership, says that Britain should spend money it currently does as part of the EU on the NHS instead.

He said: “Every week the UK sends £350m to the EU. Scotland’s share is roughly a tenth of that – more than £1.5bn a year. Just think what that money could buy here in Scotland – on schools, on our health service, repairing our roads – if it wasn't being sent into the black hole that is EU spending.”

Harris believes that Holyrood could be the real winner if his side's campaign is victorious in June.

He said: " Crucially for Scotland, leaving the EU would mean more powers for the Scottish Parliament.

The EU take all our decisions in areas such as the environment, agriculture, fisheries and social policy. If voters decide we should leave, power over those polices would be decided by politicians in Scotland, not Brussels or even Westminster"

The announcement of Harris' appointment was met with indifference by the pro-EU campaign group Scotland Stronger In Europe.

A spokesperson for the campaign said: “Scotland Stronger In Europe is already up and running and working hard, with a gender-balanced advisory board of non-politicians from the worlds of business, trade unions, science, academia, public health, encompassing different age groups and parts of Scotland.

"There are 250,000 Scottish jobs linked to our trade with Europe, and vital workers’ rights – including paid holiday leave and maternity and paternity leave – are protected by the EU. Yet with fewer than 100 days to the referendum, the Leave campaign cannot say what would happen to all these gains if we quit.

"For every £1 we put into the EU we get almost £10 back through increased trade, investment, jobs, growth and lower prices.

"It is entirely up to the Leave side who leads their campaign in Scotland, but it seems clear that they cannot match Stronger In for the diversity, expertise and broad public support encompassed in our campaign."

The referendum on Britain's membership of the EU will be held on June 23.