In her first TV interview since the death of her husband of 47 years, the Camberwell and Peckham MP told the Beth Rigby Interviews programme how the Labour Party has a "woman problem in terms of never having a woman leader".

The former deputy Labour leader, 71, also spoke of being "sexually harassed" as a trainee solicitor and about sharing her "political and life's journey" with her husband and how it is time to step down as an MP after four decades.

Ms Harman also said the party's position on Ukraine is "clear" in supporting NATO and Sir Keir Starmer was right to threaten a group of 11 MPs with suspension for criticising NATO expansion.

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'I've got to figure out how to crack on without Jack'

Ms Harman was joined in parliament by her trade unionist husband in 2010 but on 7 January he died suddenly of a heart attack aged 73.

"We were together for 47 years, which is an incredibly long time to share your political journey and your life's journey with somebody," she said.

"And the thing about being a widow after a long marriage is that - I mean, my mum lived till she was 100 - so I might have another 30 years left.

"So this is a new chapter in my life, which I've got to figure out how to crack on with the things that I'm going to be doing for the next 30 years.

"And you know, people say 'oh, now that you're on your own'. I'm not with Jack anymore, but I'm not on my own. I've got my children, I've got my friends, I've got my work colleagues."

She added that she does not agree that your life is over when you become a widow but believes, despite the "great grief and loss", it is "a different stage of life".

Still stepping down

The MP announced in December she would not run in the next election and said her husband's death has not changed her mind, adding that "you can't carry on indefinitely".

She also said it would have been "really difficult" if Labour had not won the Birmingham Erdington by-election to replace Mr Dromey. Labour's Paulette Hamilton won it last week.

"I'm sure he was up there looking down and he would have been horrified if there'd been anything else other than a Labour MP following in his footsteps," she said.

'Labour has a woman problem'

One of parliament's most prominent feminists, Ms Harman became an MP when 97% of the Commons was male - and now it is at an all-time high as 35% of MPs are women, most on the Labour benches.

But, she points out: "We're still outnumbered two to one. And women are still not in parliament on equal terms with men.

"And also it wasn't quick. It took three decades of us battling away to get in and being politely ignored and then accused of being subversive.

"We've still got a way to go until women are really on equal terms."

She is also very aware the Conservatives have had two female leaders while Labour has had none, although she has twice stepped up as acting leader.

"We've certainly got a woman problem in terms of never having a woman leader, which is downright embarrassing," she said.

"Next time we do need a woman leader."

'He grabbed me from behind'

The MP told Beth Rigby Interviews she was sexually harassed as a trainee solicitor and "like every schoolgirl" she was "always looking over [her] shoulder" as she walked down the street.

She said her colleague "came up and grabbed [her] from behind", and although she "shrieked" it never occurred to her to complain "because he was senior, my sort of line manager".

"My future career completely depended on not being chucked out, and all the partners would have sided with him and I would have been regarded as a troublemaker - it's the same old story every woman has," she added.

She said back then there was no complaints procedure and she had to continue working alone in the same room with him but women today are "rightly saying 'we're not going to put up with this anymore'".

Ms Harman agrees with Home Secretary Priti Patel that tackling violence against women and girls should be a priority for police.

"There's really a big cultural leap that the police have got to do because if they are to be trusted to protect women and girls from violence, they must have no shred of those sorts of attitudes in the police service," she said.

Support for trans women

Ms Harman talks a lot about women's rights but has not said much publicly about trans rights. However she said that is not because she is worried about offending people.

"I stand behind the Gender Recognition Act. So as far as I'm concerned, women are women who are born women, but women are also women who are trans women," she said.

"I think that we also need to recognise that in some respects there need to be same-sex services, which can be delivered and you can't have a blanket exclusion of trans women, but in certain circumstances, in narrow circumstances, you can restrict those services."

'Labour must - and does - support Ukraine'

Ms Harman became an MP against the backdrop of mass protests against nuclear weapons in the early '80s and said Vladimir Putin's current threat to use his nuclear arsenal is "one of the most frightening things to see".

She said she supports what the government is doing for Ukraine and called President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to the House of Commons this week "chilling".

In February, Sir Keir threatened to remove the party whip from 11 Labour MPs on the left of the party, who were linked to Jeremy Corbyn, after they signed a letter criticising NATO and accusing the UK of "sabre rattling" over Ukraine.

The MPs, including Diane Abbott and John McDonnell, removed their names.

Ms Harman fully supported Sir Keir's threat and said: "The Labour Party does have a clear position, which is we support NATO, and we support Ukraine, and we couldn't have people who were Labour MPs somehow qualifying that so I think he was right."

She added it is important all Labour MPs "support Labour's position and don't give the message to people in this country, or heaven forbid to Putin, that somehow there's a residue of people who are equivocal about that in the Labour Party".