Harman attacks Gordon Brown over ‘deputy PM snub’

But Mr McBride said Ms Harman’s comments were wrong and their timing were “shameful” given Mr Brown’s role in trying to obtain the release of 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by Islamist militants in Nigeria in his capacity as the UN’s Special Envoy for Global Education.

“It’s utter bilge from Harriet, done to make her attack on Dave look non-partisan,” he wrote on Twitter., external

“As every man and woman who ever worked for him could attest, Gordon judged people on only one thing: were they useless or not.”

Mr McBride said Mr Brown’s respect for women was demonstrated by the “crucial role” played by former Labour business minister Baroness Vadera at the G20 summit.

“Shriti Vadera was given a crucial role to play at the G20 not because of her position but because she could make a crucial contribution,” he wrote.

The spouses’ dinner, he added, “was a gathering of Britain’s leading women across all walks of life, of which I thought she (Ms Harman) would count herself as one”.

Mr McBride was forced to resign as Gordon Brown’s political press officer after using his No 10 e-mail account to discuss smearing political opponents.

In her speech, Ms Harman also attacked David Cameron’s record on equality issues, accusing him of surrounding himself with female MPs at prime minister’s questions “while the rest of the government benches are nearly exclusively men”.