A senior SNP MP standing down at the next election has denied there is a split in the party after one of his senior colleagues at Westminster was suspended.

Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil has had the SNP whip withdraw after reportedly threatening the party’s chief whip Brendon O’Hara.

The step came after SNP deputy leader at Westminster, Mhairi Black, confirmed she would also not be seeking re-election to the Commons, highlighting a “toxic” workplace culture at Westminster.

Read more: Mhairi Black to stand down as an MP at the next election

Mr MacNeil, who was elected as an SNP MP in 2025, has been a vocal critic of the party leadership in recent years, particularly over its independence strategy.

It is believed a row broke out between Mr MacNeil and the SNP’s chief whip over the Western Isles MP’s attendance record.

Rumours had circulated that he was set to join the Alba party when two of the party's MPs defected to Alex Salmond’s pro-independence party, but he remained with the SNP until his suspension.

But Stewart Hosie has insisted there is not a “split” in the SNP following the episode.

Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday Show, the Dundee East MP said: “I think there were some intemperate words used let it put it no more strongly than that.

"So the thing we need to do now is frankly put this behind us and move on together.

"And no, it's not indicative of anything wider than an unfortunate falling out."

Read more: MP Angus MacNeil suspended from SNP's Westminster group

Asked about Ms Black’s decision to stand down, Mr Hosie told the programme that every MP was a victim of abuse on social media.

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."

Ms Black was the youngest MP elected to Westminster in more than 300 years when she won Labour stalwart Douglas Alexander’s Paisley and Renfrewshire South seat in 2015.

Ms Black, the party's deputy leader at Westminster, is the sixth SNP MP to announce they will not contest the next election, which will be held before the end of 2024.

Read more: Stewart Hosie fifth SNP MP to step down at next Westminster election

Scottish Conservative chairman, Craig Hoy, said: “Stewart Hosie is right to say that social media abuse of politicians has become a scourge, but he knows perfectly well that the worst offenders are fanatical separatists, some of whom seem positively unhinged.

“The SNP claim to talk a good game on this subject, but the reality is that they’ve done very little to tackle the behaviour of a minority in their own party, or to disown themselves from fringe cranks who peddle bile online.

“If the nationalists are serious about a return to civilised politics, they need to do much more to distance themselves from the kind of unacceptable and offensive behaviour that is routine at nationalist events and forums."