KEZIA Dugdale has warned voters against trusting Labour, after the party walked away from a promise to pay legal fees in the MSP’s defamation battle with Wings Over Scotland.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Dugdale, who until a year ago was the party’s Scottish leader, said: “The Labour Party made a promise and it’s not a good look for any political party to fail to keep its promise – and this is to one of its own.

“How can people trust that party in any other aspect of life if this is what’s happening?

READ MORE: Daily Record to pay Dugdale's fees in legal battle with Wings Over Scotland

“I think there’s a real presentational problem from the party in that regard.

“Also, this is a party that is fundamentally about fairness, equality, and justice and they’ve put me in the most horrendous position. I really hope they’ll change their minds.”

Dugdale says Labour’s previous general secretary Iain McNicol had promised to support her, but he was replaced by Jennie Formby, a Jeremy Corbyn supporter, in March.

The party told Dudgale that they will absorb the £90k costs accrued so far, but that she was on her own for the rest of the case.

Costs could run into six figures.

Dugdale is being sued for defamation after suggesting that a tweet by Wings Over Scotland’s editor Stuart Campbell was homophobic.

Campbell tweeted last year: “Oliver Mundell is the sort of public speaker that makes you wish his dad had embraced his homosexuality sooner.”

In a column for the Daily Record, Dugdale said that she was “shocked and appalled to see a pro-independence blogger’s homophobic tweets”.

On Twitter, The Record’s deputy editor David Clegg revealed that the paper had initially, as per normal practice, “wanted to provide legal support to our columnist” but in a meeting between our lawyers and Labour Party officials it was made clear they wanted to deal with it themselves and did not want our help.”

He added: “Labour took on agency for the case and assembled their own lawyers to discharge the case. The Record was told to step aside.”

He then confirmed that the paper had “now reinstated legal support”.

The row is threatening to cause a rift in the party and create a leadership crisis for Dugdale’s successor Richard Leonard.

There was support for Labour’s decision to cut off Dugdale from the influential Campaign For Socialism, chaired by MSP for Lothian Neil Findlay.

“The party has already spent nearly £100,000 supporting Kezia; despite this agreement being reached privately by the outgoing general secretary and Kezia Dugdale,” they said in a statement on Thursday night.

The group also claimed that there were “efforts taking place among a minority of the party to use this principled decision in an an attempt to destabilise Richard Leonard”.

That came after a statement from MSPs in Holyrood offered “full support and solidarity for Kezia in the case.”

Dugdale has said she could face bankruptcy over the case.

Speaking to the Daily Record’s weekly podcast, the MSP revealed how she felt when her lawyers informed her that the party had withdrawn financial support: “I probably hit one of the lowest personal moments of my life,” she said.