Fergus Ewing loses appeal against SNP suspension

Veteran MSP Fergus Ewing has lost his appeal against his week-long suspension from the SNP group at Holyrood.

Disciplinary action was taken in September against the former minister, who has repeatedly criticised the party leadership.

Mr Ewing, who will be suspended from midnight, branded the SNP an "authoritarian party".

Earlier last year, he voted against the government in a no-confidence motion on Greens minister Lorna Slater.

Last year, the SNP's Holyrood group voted to take action against the Inverness and Nairn MSP by 48 votes to nine with four abstentions.

Among the MSPs who supported him were former leadership contender Kate Forbes, his sister Annabelle Ewing, and Christine Grahame.

First Minister Humza Yousaf was absent for the vote, as was his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon, who had a prior engagement.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Ewing highlighted his opposition to the deposit return scheme and said the SNP "no longer tolerates a conscience vote".

He said the party implemented new rules in 2021 preventing SNP MSPs from exercising a such a vote, unless there was prior approval from the whole group, and called for the clause to be removed.

Mr Ewing added: "The SNP has now become an authoritarian party requiring strict obedience to the leadership at the expense of personal freedom for any individual member."

The former minister said he believed the public did not want MSPs "who must always blindly follow the party line".

His statement continued: "If my constituents wanted a doormat, they would have gone to B&Q."

Mr Ewing also described the party's power-sharing deal with the Greens at Holyrood as "disastrous" and went on to criticise Green ministers Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie.

He concluded: "For my future, I vow to continue to defend the interests of my constituents; and as far as the SNP is concerned… let the cards fall as they may. If the SNP cannot cope with that, so be it."

The disciplinary action came after Mr Ewing's vote against Ms Slater in a no-confidence vote.

The motion was tabled by the Tories last June over the circular economy minister's handling of the deposit return scheme.

Mr Ewing, who served as rural economy secretary under Nicola Sturgeon, has also criticised Scottish government policies on gender recognition reform and Highly Protected Marine Areas, as well as attacking ministers over a lack of progress on dualling the A9.

And in September last year he rebelled against the government in a vote over calls for a 12-month delay to a short-term lets licensing scheme.

Mr Ewing has also called for a fresh SNP vote on the 2021 power-sharing Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens.

The former minister has been an MSP since the Scottish Parliament was created in 1999.

He is the son of SNP icon Winnie Ewing, who died last June aged 93.