Has Gordon Brown ruled himself out of the Scottish Labour leader race?

Gordon Brown will not run in the Scottish Labour leadership contest, according to Sky News. Anonymous sources close to the former Prime Minister have confirmed to the station that Brown will not put his name forward.

Bookies had made Brown third favourite when odds were released yesterday, behind Anas Sarwar and Kezia Dugdale but ahead of Jim Murphy. You can see LabourList’s rundown of the contenders here.

Scottish Labour’s NEC will meet this at 4.30 this afternoon to decide the process and schedule for selecting a new leader, with acting leader Anas Sarwar announcing the agreed timetable this evening.

Brown not standing could be a boost to Jim Murphy’s chances – along with Douglas Alexander, Murphy is the next biggest name from Westminster said to be weighing up a leadership bid. While Alexander is not expected to run, we may have a clearer idea when he appears on Murnaghan this morning.

Two Scottish Sunday papers, meanwhile, run with the claim that Murphy is the frontrunner: Scotland on Sunday and the Sunday Herald. Murphy does seem to command wide support, although it was still not clear yesterday whether he will run.

Anas Sarwar, tipped to run, will appear on the BBC’s Sunday Politics today – although it is very unlikely he would announce his intentions until after the process has been decided tonight.

There have been calls for the process to be stalled – former Labour First Minister Lord McConnell says he doesn’t want a timetable to be agreed until it is clear whether claims made by Johann Lamont concerning the UK Labour Party making decisions without consulting her are true. McConnell’s predecessor Henry McLeish has said that “No amount of procrastination can hide the deep-seated problems that have to be tackled now.”

Update: On Murnaghan, Douglas Alexander denies the accusations Ed Miliband prevented Johann Lamont from opposing the Bedroom Tax for a year: “Simply not the case”, he says.