A senior Scottish Labour policy chief has criticised her party for forgetting to mention the needs of unpaid carers in its manifesto.

Clare Lally contrasted the omission with UKIP recognising carers and claimed the Scottish party had simply put its own banner on the UK Labour's policy for the disabled.

Lally was in Johann Lamont's shadow cabinet and is still her party's carers' champion.

A carer herself, she is listed as vice-chair of Labour's Scottish policy forum and is crediting with overhauling party policy for people who look after relatives for little or no reward.

According to a Scottish Parliament briefing, there are nearly 660,000 unpaid carers in north of the border - one eighth of the population.

The same research estimated that these carers save the Scottish economy £7.6bn a year and noted that 40% of the individuals believed their access to services is poor.

Lally is also playing a key role in devising her party's carers' plan for next year's Holyrood election.

However, despite Labour's strong words on the issue, unpaid carers were not mentioned anywhere in the Scottish party's general election manifesto.

Twenty four hours after the document was published, Lally wrote on a private Facebook site that has over 550 members:

"Just under a million Unpaid Carers in Scotland who are on the lowest paid benefit but who save the Government the most - and we can't/haven't even acknowledged them."

She added that "it must sound as if I'm always on my soapbox but if a Party like UKIP can come out and recognise us why can't we..."

By contrast, lifting the ban on alcohol at football matches and scrapping anti-sectarianism legislation - signature policies of leader Jim Murphy - got a mention.

After Scottish Labour put out a press release on its policies for disabled people, Lally wrote:

"This was the announcement from UK Labour today have we just stuck a Scottish Labour banner round it?"

Jackson Carlaw, the Scottish Conservatives health spokesman, said: "Carers are the unsung heroes of our society - of that there is no question. Without their dedication our public services would collapse under the weight of so many demands."

"It is a pity that, according to Ms Lally, Scottish Labour has not thought to consider them in its manifesto. For our part, the Scottish Conservative manifesto proposes that people who are caring for more than 50 hours a week get a fully-funded week of respite to help them take some time for themselves and recharge the batteries."

A spokesperson for Scottish Labour said: "Unlike the SNP, who have forced their members who want to hold elected office to sign a gagging clause denying them the opportunity to criticise the party Scottish Labour encourages debate and discussion. Clare Lally is an inspirational figure who is Labour's carers' champion. She has every right to speak out on behalf of those she represents. Clare was taking part in an on line discussion and these comments are only one part of what she said. Labour has a proud record of working on behalf of the disabled and disadvantaged and we will continue to do so."