Labour leadership hopeful distances himself from McCluskey attack on Murphy

All three hopefuls - Findlay, Murphy and MSP Sarah Boyack - were taking part in a Scottish Women's Conference hustings in Glasgow at which they laid out their positions on abortion, gender equality and reconnect the party with the public.

However, a well-mannered debate ended with a question about attacks made on Murphy over the last few days.

McCluskey, whose union has endorsed Findlay and is helping fund his campaign, had written that Murphy stood for "reheated Blairism", which "will be a sentence of political death for many Scottish Labour MPs".

He said ending factionalism was "beyond Jim Murphy's skillset", adding: "He is an advocate - and, let me acknowledge, a powerful and committed advocate - for the policies which have led Scottish Labour to its present pass. His victory would be all the SNP's Christmases come at once."

By contrast, he said of Findlay: "He has the commitment to social justice and a progressive agenda essential to reconnect Labour with what were its natural supporters among working-class communities across Scotland."

Asked by a party member how each candidate felt about "personal attacks" made by "certain" trades union leaders, Findlay said he would "never" apologise for the involvement of trades unions in the party.

However, he added: "This is a debate about policy and the direction of the party. This is not about people or personalities. I said to my team, the first words I said, 'If anyone wants to make this a personality contest, there's the door, leave now'. I cannot control what people outside my campaign do or say."

Murphy responded by saying he wanted a "partnership" with the unions, but added that "it can't be a partnership based on that sort of acrimony".

McCluskey and Murphy have loathed each other since last year's Falkirk selection debacle, in which Unite was accused of signing up more than 100 new members in a bid to help the union's favoured candidate, Karie Murphy.

Murphy blamed "external interference" in the selection process and said one union had "well and truly overstepped the mark" in Falkirk - views that angered the Unite boss.

Karie Murphy was outside yesterday's hustings wearing a pro-Findlay T-shirt.

After the event, Findlay said of the McCluskey article: "I didn't know anything about it. He wrote that piece. Len is not involved in my campaign."

Murphy told the Sunday Herald: "I'm not going to get drawn into Neil's relationship with Unite. This has got to be a great advert for the Scottish Labour party. It will be a decision for people in Scotland, trades union members and party members in Scotland."

Asked what he thought about McCluskey's "division" jibe, Murphy said: "Shrug of the shoulders really ... I've had bigger and stronger people wanting to have a pop at me."

Meanwhile, all three candidates asserted their belief in a women's right to choose a termination.

Murphy, a practising Catholic, said he disagreed with his Church's view on the issue, and described himself as pro-choice.

Findlay and Boyack also supported the right to access abortion services, but none of the three want the controversial issue devolved.

The candidates for the deputy leadership - MSP Kezia Dugdale and MP Katy Clark - also went head-to-head at the event.

Dugdale, who represents the Lothians, cited "occupational segregation", affordable ­childcare and education as her priorities.

Clark said Scottish Labour must rejuvenate itself with a set of far-reaching policies, adding: "These elections offer us the opportunity to take our party back, to bring it home, to return it to its values of social justice and equality."

The SNP's James Dornan said: "On the same day that the SNP passed its leadership from one political giant to another, the Scottish Labour party was seen to be still stuck in the past and fighting the political battles of the 1970s."