MHAIRI Black has hit out at Scottish Labour MP Ian Murray, calling him a "Tory wrapped up in Labour clothing" for criticising her voting record –when she has missed Parliament time due to being sick and unable to work.

The SNP chose to abstain on the third reading of the Budget bill this week, because it brought forward changes which would give Scotland's fire and police services a VAT exemption – an issue the SNP have been campaigning on for years.

READ MORE: Ian Blackford demands Labour MPs apologise after they attacked Mhairi Black for missing work with serious illness

But in response to a Daily Record column Black wrote about Labour's record on austerity, Murray tweeted to her: "Did you vote against the Tory budget last night @MhairiBlack? To make it easy for you the answer is no you didn’t. Maybe you should turn up a bit more often. Worst attendance and voting record in parliament."

Black hit back at the Edinburgh South MP, tweeting an extract from an interview with Holyrood Magazine which explained her voting record was down to missing months of work for being sick.

She wrote: "A wee excerpt from a recent interview I did. Learn how to make a political point without resorting to bullying tactics. Some Labour values you’ve got... You stay classy Ian."

Murray replied: "Im genuinely sorry you’ve been ill but I was referring to your daily record article where you accuse labour of backing the Tories when the SNP didn’t vote against Tory budget the very same day of the article. You & your colleagues voted on amendments less than an hour before."

And Mhairi had the last word. "Sorry Ian, not good enough," she wrote. "Publicly chastising and blaming a person for not being able to work when ill? Sounds very like a Tory wrapped up in Labour clothing. You’ll see the explanation for our abstention in my reply. Disagreeing is fine but debate without bullying please."

UPDATE: A second Scottish Labour MP has attacked Black for taking time off her work due to serious illness.

Paul Sweeney, MP for Glasgow North-East, said: "Considering that Mhairi Black didn't even show up in Parliament last night to vote against the Tories' austerity max Finance Bill, and has barely turned up at all, she has quite the chutzpah to then pen this hatchet job. So much for being a political 'signpost' as Tony Benn said."

Mhairi replied: "I refer you to what I sent your colleague @IanMurrayMP. Bizarre that two so called progressive, ‘socialist’ men feel it’s appropriate to comment on a female colleague’s medical absence. Pretty sure that constitutes as bullying in most workplaces?"

What on earth are Scottish Labour playing at?