Harriet Harman has rejected suggestions that she is "too posh to be deputy leader of the Labour Party".

The constitutional affairs minister and candidate to replace John Prescott was answering readers' questions in the Independent newspaper on Monday in which it was suggested that her background, including a private education, might disqualify her for the job.

However Harman insisted that her campaigning and government record showed her commitment to tackling inequality.

"I wasn't too posh to fight for the minimum wage and invent the Low Pay Commission," she said.

"Or to be part of the team that led Labour from the wilderness of opposition into government.

"So the answer is no. I represent posh people as well as poor people in my constituency of Camberwell and Peckham."

Harman has said she is standing for the post because she believes a woman should be part of Labour's leadership team.

But it was also put to her that "class background" should be a factor in choosing a deputy leader, rather than the election being "decided by gender".

Harman insisted that "everyone in the Labour Party fights inequality and injustice". "Women are the majority of the population and should be at least half of the leadership," she argued.

She also tackled questions over her experience, having spent just one year as a cabinet minister following her dismissal as social security secretary in 1998.

But she said the sacking and her subsequent comeback had given her a broader view than those who have only served in government in recent years.

"I served in Labour's first cabinet," she said. "I have been a backbencher while Labour has been in government.

"And I am a minister once again. Good leaders need to understand all parts of the team - not just the top."

Harman also denied that she has "done a deal" with female colleagues that none will stand against her for the job, welcoming other women candidates.

"I declared early to make clear it wasn't going to be a 'men only' election," she said. "But other women may join in."