Labour leadership contender Angela Eagle has been branded the "Empire Strikes Back candidate" by an ally of Jeremy Corbyn.

Shadow health secretary Diane Abbott said Eagle's past voting record on issues like the Iraq war and tuition fees cast doubt on her ability to win a leadership contest.

Eagle insisted on Sunday that she is challenging Corbyn for the Labour leadership in order to save the party.

It comes after a series of shadow cabinet resignations led to a vote of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) which showed Corbyn had lost the confidence of 172 Labour MPs - over 80%.

Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain, Abbott said: "You can call it Armageddon if you like but the truth is at the end of the day Labour Party members choose the leader, not MPs.

"We are going to have a leadership election with Jeremy on the ballot.

"I'm waiting to hear Angela say he should be on the ballot because it would be a travesty in terms of natural justice and fairness if he's not on the ballot."

She added: "I think she's the Empire Strikes Back candidate - she voted for Iraq, she voted for tuition fees. And someone who came fourth out of five to be deputy, it's not clear to me that she can win the leadership."

Corbyn and his allies are adamant that the Labour rulebook means he will automatically be on the ballot in any leadership contest.

However, opponents have interpreted the rules to mean he would need the backing of 51 MPs or MEPs to stand.

Speaking to the BBC's Sunday Politics on the subject, Eagle commented: "Anyone who aspires to lead the parliamentary party who cannot get 51 members, 20% of the parliamentary party, to back them is not going to be able to do the job properly."

On the Andrew Marr Show on the same day, Corbyn suggested he would be prepared to go to court if the Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) ruled he would not automatically be on the leadership ballot.

"I will challenge that if that is the view they take," he said.

Eagle is facing a vote of no confidence by members of her own local party, which backs Corbyn.

The motion will be debated on July 22 by Wallasey Constituency Labour Party (CLP), its vice chair said.

The Wallasey CLP's membership has grown from 900 before June 24 to 1,200, he added.