'No split in SNP' says MP after colleague suspended

Stewart Hosie has urged his party to move on from an incident involving a senior colleague and the chief whip

SNP MP Stewart Hosie has rejected suggestions of a split in the party's Westminster group following the suspension of a senior colleague.

Angus MacNeil had the whip withdrawn for a week after allegedly threatening chief whip Brendan O'Hara.

It came after deputy Westminster leader Mhairi Black announced she would not seek re-election, describing the Parliament as a "toxic" workplace.

Along with Mr Hosie, she in one of six SNP MPs to confirm they will step down.

• SNP MP suspended following clash with chief whip

• Mhairi Black to step down as SNP MP at next election

• Stewart Hosie to stand down at next election

Mr MacNeil is one of the SNP's longest-serving MPs, having first been elected in 2005.

He has been a vocal critic of the party leadership in recent years, particularly over its independence strategy.

However Mr Hosie said Mr MacNeil's suspension - which is said to have followed a row over his attendance record - was not evidence of a "split" in the party.

SNP MP Angus MacNeil has had the whip removed for a week, according to party sources

Speaking to BBC Scotland's Sunday Show, he said: "I think there were some intemperate words used let it put it no more strongly than that."

He pointed out that Mr MacNeil, the MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles), said he accepted the suspension.

"So the thing we need to do now is frankly put this behind us and move on together," Mr Hosie said. "And no, it's not indicative of anything wider than an unfortunate falling out."

The Dundee East MP and former SNP deputy leader also said he understood Ms Black's decision to stand down as an MSP.

Mhairi Black has announced she is stepping down at the next general election

The Paisley and Renfrewshire South MP, 28, cited safety concerns, social media abuse and unsociable hours and described Westminster as an "outdated, sexist and toxic" working environment.

Mr Hosie said every MP was a victim of abuse on social media.

But he added: "Speaking to female colleagues, they suffer from it far, far, far more than I think the men do, particularly the level of misogynistic abuse, you know, the rape threats.

"It's quite intolerable and it's really not the way politics, however robust, should be."

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Ms Black, the party's deputy leader at Westminster, became the parliament's youngest MP since 1832 when she was elected aged 20 in 2015.

She is the sixth SNP MP to announce they will not contest the next election, which is expected to be held in 2024.

Recent polls have suggested that Scottish Labour could make significant gains, with former Daily Record Westminster editor Torcuil Crichton set to stand for the party in Na h-Eileanan an Iar.

Former SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford was the first SNP MP to announce he would not be seeking re-election.

Party colleagues Peter Grant, Angela Crawley and Douglas Chapman are also set to stand down.