Diane Abbott has accused Keir Starmer of treating her like “a non-person” during the row over a Tory donor saying she “should be shot”.
Britain’s first black female MP received an outpouring of sympathy when Frank Hester’s comments emerged earlier this year.
But in an interview with BBC’s Newsnight programme, Abbott said she received more support from Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, than she did from Starmer.
She said: “I think initially I was treated as a non-person, which felt very strange because at the same time they were writing to party members trying to raise money on the back of how Hester had treated me, without mentioning me, which was a bit odd.
“You’d feel that if somebody was threatening to have you shot, you would have felt that your party would have offered you more support, given you advice on safety and security, even commiserated with you, and none of that happened.”
Asked by Victoria Derbyshire if the Labour leader had treated her as a non-person, Abbott replied: “As I recall, Keir Starmer treated me as a non-person. I got more support from the leader of the SNP, Stephen Flynn, than I got from the leader of my own party.”
Hester - who has given the Conservatives £20 million in the last two years - eventually said he was “sorry” for the “rude” comments about Abbott.
The row broke while Abbott was suspended by Labour over comments she had previously made about Jewish people.
She was finally given back the Labour whip at the end of May, but sources close to Starmer said she would not stand for the party in the general election.
After 48 hours of confusion, during which time Angela Rayner added her voice to those calling for Abbott to be allowed to stand, Starmer eventually caved in and said she was “free” to continue her 37-year parliamentary career.
She was re-elected as MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington - the seat she has held since 1987 - with a 15,000 majority.
A Labour spokesperson said: “Keir Starmer has great respect for Diane Abbott and she continues to be an inspiration to many. There is no doubt that she has received the most abuse of any MP just because of her gender and the colour of her skin, and that is completely reprehensible and wrong.
“The party, including Keir Starmer, vocally condemned Frank Hester’s vile comments and reached out to Diane at the time to offer support.
“It’s simply wrong to say that there was any plan being pushed by the leadership to force her out. We continue to value Diane’s significant contribution to public life.”