The Scottish Tories have called on every SNP candidate to set out their stance on Michael Matheson's suspension.

Speaking on Friday, Douglas Ross said John Swinney had left his Westminster hopefuls in a “dreadful position” after he backed the ex-health secretary and criticised Holyrood's Standards Committee.

He called on the First Minister to sack the Falkirk West MSP. 

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On Thursday, the Standards Committee recommended Mr Matheson be suspended for 27 days and have his wages withdrawn for 54 days. 

Mr Swinney stunned the opposition benches when he claimed the cross-party probe into his “friend and colleague” had been "prejudiced" because of comments made by one of the committee’s Tory members.

He pointed to remarks made by Annie Wells when she said the "desperate efforts" by Mr Matheson to justify his expenses claim had been "riddled with lies, cover-ups and the need for us all to suspend our disbelief."

Mr Swinney said that if a constituent was facing disciplinary action at work and their employer made similar comments, he would “come down on that employer like a tonne of bricks”.

He added: “That is the situation that Michael Matheson is facing here, and that is why I will not be supporting the sanction.”

As well as the vote on the suspension, Parliament will debate a Scottish Conservative motion calling on Mr Matheson to resign next week.

Mr Ross said: “The SNP must sack Michael Matheson from the party and U-turn on their pathetic attempt to overturn the sanctions he faces for misusing taxpayers’ money and lying to the press, public and Scottish Parliament. In any other line of work, Michael Matheson would have already lost his job.

“John Swinney’s shameful defence of this disgraced former health secretary has left his nationalist candidates in a dreadful position on day one of this campaign.”

Meanwhile, Patrick Harvie suggested the Greens could seek to amend the punishment meted out to Mr Matheson.

The ex-minister indicated that he and his colleagues agreed with Mr Swinney that there were legitimate concerns over the process.

Speaking to journalists as he launched his party’s general election campaign, Mr Harvie said: “The Tories are playing some shallow politics with this. That's true to form.

“The idea that Douglas Ross, a man who served in Boris Johnson's government, is trying to present himself as the standard bearer of truth and honesty and politics is frankly absurd.

“We will look carefully at the detail of what the standards committee, the cross party committee has recommended.

“But you know, I think we should all be concerned about for example, it appears that the draft of their recommendation was leaked, presumably by a member of the committee.

“I think we should be deeply worried about some aspects of the process.”

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Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes was asked about the row during a campaign event in Inverness.

She said: "I won't comment on a live investigation, I think the First Minister has set out his concerns about the process when it comes to Michael Matheson.

"I think the election has come at a very good moment for the SNP. Over the last few weeks we've seen John Swinney's popularity increase - he's now the most popular leader anywhere in the UK, outstripping Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak."

Mr Matheson's expenses bill first came under scrutiny last November when the Daily Telegraph uncovered a £10,935.74 data roaming charge.

At first, he claimed this was the result of parliamentary work while on a family holiday in Morrocco and a misunderstanding with a new sim card.

He then told MSPs in an emotional statement on November 16 that he had discovered his sons had been watching football during the family trip.

He said he had been told by his wife on November 9 that the teenagers had used his parliamentary device as a wifi hotspot.

However, on November 13, when asked directly if there was "any personal use" of the device during the family holiday, he told reporters: "No”

It also emerged that he met with parliamentary authorities, including Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone during this period and did not tell them his boys were responsible for racking up the charges.

The full Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body report also revealed that he was asked seven times by officials over a period of four months to provide assurances he was satisfied the data usage was entirely for parliamentary business.

Asked if he thought the 27-day suspension and the pay withdrawl were too heavy, Mr Harvie replied: “We'll look in detail at the committee's recommendation before making a final decision on what level of sanction we think is appropriate.”