Mr Sarwar spoke to GB News when he travelled to London to support Andy Burnham when he was announced as the new Labour Party leader

Andy Burnham is set to hand Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar a ministerial role in his Government.

Mr Sarwar was the first Labour figure to publicly call for Sir Keir Starmer to resign back in February.

The Scottish Labour leader will be made a peer and appointed as a business minister as the Prime Minister continues to announce key positions within his administration.

The move means Mr Sarwar will leave the Scottish Parliament and his role as leader before he takes a seat in the House of Lords.

Mr Sarwar travelled to London to support Andy Burnham when he was announced as the new Labour Party leader, where he spoke to GB News after the conference.

The Labour figure told the People's Channel Mr Burnham "is the man who can and must beat Nigel Farage" in the next election.

He said: "We in the Labour Party love a policy disagreement. We love to disobey and discuss the minutiae. Of course we do. But let's not forget all those internal debates. All those nuanced positions pale into insignificance compared to the big challenge we face in our country.

"We are in the fight of our lives to save the heart and soul of this great nation."

He added: "This is not a country that wants to be in the hands of Nigel Farage. This is not a country that wants to be suspicious of its neighbour or to pit one against another.

"This is a country that needs a government on the side of all of us. That's what Andy Burnham will be. But we have to make sure that it's a success."

His party was crushed in the country's parliamentary elections in May, winning just 17 seats out of 129.

Shortly after the disastrous results, Mr Sarwar vowed to stay in his role, a position he appears to have U-turned on since Mr Burnham's accession.

When asked at the time whether he would consider sitting in the House of Lords, Mr Sarwar said: "No. I'm focused on being first minister of this great country."

He added: "My only commitment, my only focus, is serving my constituents in Glasgow and serving the great people of this country, if I get the honour of being first minister."

The Scottish Labour leader doubled down on his comments after Sir Keir resigned in June, claiming he was "Hungry for the fight ahead and I want to play my full part in making sure this country never ends up in the hands of Nigel Farage and Reform."

His appointment would not trigger a by-election for his Holyrood seat as he was elected via the regional list despite leaving a vacancy for the leadership of Scottish Labour.

New rules that prevent politicians from sitting at both Westminster and Holyrood at the same time were introduced last year.

Back in Febuary Mr Sarwar broke ranks with the UK leadership at the height of the political fallout surrounding Peter Mandelson’s controversial appointment as UK ambassador to the US.

He argued that "too many mistakes" had been made by the Labour Government and that he was choosing "country before party".