ONE of the country’s most senior trade unionists has said Kezia Dugdale should have used her outside earnings to help pay her legal fees in a court case against a pro-independence blogger.

Pat Rafferty, the regional secretary of Unite, said the former Scottish Labour leader should have donated some of the £70,000 she earned for appearing on a celebrity TV show rather than relying on Labour funds.

He also described her criticism of Labour’s decision to stop paying her legal bills as “incredible” and “irresponsible”.

Dugdale, who led the party for two years, is being sued for defamation by Stuart Campbell, who runs the Wings Over Scotland blog.

Labour at a UK level had originally agreed to pay her legal fees, but Ms Dugdale’s solicitor was informed recently that the party had changed its mind.

The decision caused widespread anger as Scottish Labour members believed Ms Dugdale has been abandoned half-way through the case.

In an interview last week, Ms Dugdale said: “The Labour Party made a promise and it’s not a good look for any political party to fail to keep its promise.

“This is what it’s doing to one of its own, so how can people trust that party in any other aspect of life, if this is what’s happening?”

But Mr Rafferty, who is the most senior figure in Unite north of the border, said the Lothians MSP could have contributed to the pot with her own cash.

Ms Dugdale, who earns over £60,000 as an MSP, angered her colleagues last year after skipping her parliamentary duties to appear on ‘I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!” in the jungle in Australia.

She topped up her MSP salary with a pre-tax fee of £70,000, some of which she gave to charity.

Mr Rafferty said: “Some of the comments she has been making are irresponsible, basically saying ‘I am not getting the backing in this legal case, and so the party itself cannot be trusted’.”

“Some party members will be wondering whether this is the same Kezia Dugdale who was in the Australian jungle not that long ago and got £70,000 for it. So why is it that party members should be picking up her legal fees?"

He added: “I think she should have made a contribution to the legal fees.”

Mr Rafferty also said: “I just think the way that Kezia has attacked the Labour party, her own party, is incredible.”

A source close to Ms Dugdale said: "The last thing Labour members want to hear just now is trade union leaders parroting lines from Wings Over Scotland."