Girlguiding Scotland and two other charities are deciding what to do with more than £1m worth of legacy bequests left by a convicted child sex offender.

Reginald Forester-Smith, who spent eight years in prison for multiple counts of abusing girls, died last year leaving £400,000 to Girlguiding Scotland in memory of his late wife, and £312,291 each to Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Forester-Smith’s daughter, who wrote a book about also being abused by the late photographer, has been left out of the will.

None of the charities named in the will have decided what to do with the bequests.

Girlguiding Scotland said: "The matter is currently in the hands of the executors going through the legal administrative process and as such it would be inappropriate for us to comment."

A Cancer Research UK spokeswoman said the charity will not be able to comment until it too has finished liaising with the executors of the estate while a spokeswoman for Macmillan said the charity is not able to make a statement and is “looking in to it”.