SNP MP Angus MacNeil has been suspended from the party's Westminster group over a row with chief whip Brendan O'Hara, it is being reported.

Mr MacNeil was involved in a clash with Brendan O'Hara in Parliament on Monday evening, according to reports.

SNP sources confirmed to BBC Scotland that he has had the whip removed for a week.

On Tuesday, the Na h-Eileanan an Iar MP urged his Twitter followers to "always stand up to bullies", especially "any abusing their positions".

It came as first minister Humza Yousaf refused to suspend his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon from the party following her arrest amid a long running police investigation into the SNP's finances. Ms Sturgeon was released without charge pending further inquiries.

Mhairi Black became the sixth SNP MP to confirm they would be stepping down at the next general election.

She described Westminster as being a "toxic" working environment though denied that was due to relationships with party colleagues.

Ms Black, who was 20 when she was elected, said Westminster was "definitely a poisonous place."

"Whether that's because of what folk can get away with in it or the number of personal motivations and folk having ulterior motives for things, and it's just not a nice place to be in," she added.

There have been tensions in the SNP about Mr MacNeil’s behaviour because he has often criticised party policy and is seen as a close ally of Alex Salmond, the former SNP first minister who formed the Alba Party.

However, the latest dispute is said to revolve around MacNeil’s presence in the Commons. Mr MacNeil’s defenders point to the difficult and often unpredictable commute from his constituency to London and the fact he is a single father as reasons for his absences.

Friends of Mr MacNeil have also claimed that Mr O’Hara has made moves to undermine the longstanding MP’s reselection for the next general election. Mr MacNeil has represented Na h-Eileanan since 2005.

Ms Black joins Ian Blackford, the former SNP Westminster leader, Stewart Hosie, Angela Crawley, Peter Grant and Douglas Chapman in announcing they will stand down as SNP MPs. Others are expected to follow.

Responding to reports of Mr MacNeil's suspension from the group, Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “The scandal-ridden SNP are clearly in a state of open warfare, with personal feuds spilling into public.

“Perhaps this is the ‘toxic’ culture Mhairi Black was lamenting when she became the sixth SNP MP to announce they were stepping down at the next election.

“It’s telling that Angus MacNeil has been suspended by the leadership for a fallout with the chief whip, yet Nicola Sturgeon retains the whip – contrary to party precedent – despite having been arrested.

“But this ugly soap opera doesn’t just affect the SNP – it impacts all of us.

“Humza Yousaf is so consumed with trying to contain the civil war in his own party that he’s unable to focus on the real priorities of the Scottish people. This explains his relentless focus on independence – the only thing feuding Nats agree on – rather than the cost-of-living crisis, ailing public services and growing Scotland’s economy.”

Mr MacNeil and the SNP have been approached for comment.