The Scottish Labour Party is in "meltdown" after "civil war" erupted between the party's leadership and its councillors, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The SNP leader made the comments after Labour Party chiefs north of the border were forced to suspend nine councillors who struck a deal to form a coalition with the Conservatives in Aberdeen.

Labour's ruling Scottish Executive Committee had rejected such a deal and when the party's group on Aberdeen City Council went ahead and formed a joint administration with the Tories, they were all suspended.

Ms Sturgeon taunted Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale over the party's situation as the pair clashed at First Minister's Questions.

In noisy exchanges at Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said Labour "is in disarray, it is in civil war, it is in meltdown".

Ms Dugdale used the weekly session to call on Ms Sturgeon to order SNP members to "denounce and shun" the controversial pro-independence website Wings Over Scotland.

The Labour MSP said she had received a lawyer's letter demanding £10,000 for "damage to reputation" on behalf of the site's founder, Stuart Campbell, after she accused him of homophobia.

Ms Sturgeon told MSPs: "Kezia Dugdale is asking me about this today because she hopes it means I won't be able to remind her that her colleagues in Aberdeen yesterday voted for a Tory administration there."

The Labour leader insisted: "When my colleagues do something I disagree with, I take action. I'm asking the First Minister to do the same."

Ms Dugdale said elected SNP politicians, including senior members of the Scottish Government, "positively engage" with Wings Over Scotland by retweeting its comments - saying this group included Finance Secretary Derek Mackay, Justice Secretary Michael Matheson and transport minister Humza Yousaf.

Ms Sturgeon responded: "This is an absolutely ridiculous line of questioning. I unequivocally condemn abuse of any kind.

"I've got a list here of abuse that's been hurled at me by many people who are now Tory councillors in Scotland, I've had abuse from people who are members of the Labour Party, I've been called a fascist and Nazi or my party has by Ian Smart, who was a senior member of the Labour Party, and I didn't hold Kezia Dugdale responsible.

"Let's cut to the chase here, this is a smokescreen being erected by Kezia Dugdale today because her party is in disarray, it is civil war, it is in meltdown.

"She is directing this at me to hide one simple fact - as leader of the Scottish Labour Party she is not in control of her own party because she can't stop her councillors going into coalition with Tories up and down the country.

"That is why she is asking about this today, as a smokescreen to protect herself against the state of her own party."