An MSP who resigned from the Scottish Conservatives this week says there is “growing disquiet” among former colleagues over the party’s move to the far right.

Jamie Greene told the BBC he had grown “deeply uncomfortable” over how the party had described issues affecting LGBT people as a “dangerous ideology”.

Greene, who defected to the Liberal Democrats on Friday, claimed he was not alone in feeling the Conservatives’ shift to tackle the threat posed by Reform had alienated certain members.

He made a plea for those who felt the same way to “join him” if they felt they were unhappy over upcoming the Easter recess.

He said the party, which he joined in 2016 under Ruth Davidson’s leadership, had moved from being a “fairly moderate, centrist party” to “increasingly right in tone and language”.

Greene, who is a member of the LGBT+ community, previously claimed he had been sacked from a front bench role at Holyrood over his support for gender recognition reform.

He said his politics were “unchanged,” but admitted he had followed his moral compass in quitting the party after speaking at a memorial for former SNP MSP Christina McKelvie last week.

He told the programme: “There is a split, there is a portion of the Conservative party that wants to go further right to tackle Reform and I think the party are going in that direction but where does that leave everyone else?

“Sticking the words ‘dangerous ideology’ in front of something, when you’re talking for example about the LGBT community, which I am part of, that doesn’t sit comfortably with me. It affects you personally.”

He added: “There is a growing disquiet amongst people who are like-minded, who feel the sort of politics and enact the sort of politics that I’ve been for the last couple of years. I think they are increasingly uncomfortable.”

Greene said he had received messages of support from Conservative staff members and party activists since his departure.

However he also said he had seen comments from former colleagues on social media which “vindicated” his decision.

Cole-Hamilton said he had “put an arm around” friends in the Conservatives who felt they “did not recognise the party” anymore.

Greene added: “I would make an open plea to people over the Easter recess, in your heart of hearts, are you happy? Are you comfortable?

“And if you’re not, come and join me.”

A Scottish Conservative spokesperson said: “Under Russell Findlay’s leadership, the Scottish Conservatives are working hard to rebuild trust with disillusioned voters and promote common sense conservative values.

“We will continue to stand up to Holyrood’s cosy left-wing consensus and oppose the SNP’s dangerous agenda.”

Meanwhile, the co-leader of the Scottish Greens, Patrick Harvie, said he was proud the party continued to “stand up to the modern waves of prejudice and toxic values” in politics.

Harvie announced he was standing down as the party’s co-leader in the summer after 17 years in the role.

He said he believed the Greens’ equality policy on trans rights, which prompted former MSPs Andy Wightman and Robin Harper to quit the party, was the “right one”.

He said: “If any member, decides, as Jamie Greene has decided he can’t support the current Conservative party, they’ll have to make a decision.

“I’m very convinced that the Scottish Green Party’s approach on equalities is the right one and I’m very glad there is at least one party standing up to the modern waves of prejudice and hostility and some of the toxic values that are infecting a lot of our politics at the moment.”