AXED Nationalist MSP Bill Walker yesterday refused to discuss calls for his resignation at the Scottish Parliament.

The Dunfermline MSP, who was expelled from the party over allegations of serial domestic abuse, sat in on the first major set-piece debate of the session.

He sat alone behind two Green MSPs and adjacent to the Tory benches. SNP whip Brian Adam went to speak to the embattled MSP when he arrived in the Holyrood chamber but was waved away by other SNP MSPs.

Earlier, SNP leader Alex Salmond said that when Mr Walker returned to the Holyrood chamber "one thing's for certain, he won't be sitting on the SNP benches".

After voting for the consent motion approving the Scotland Bill, Mr Walker returned to his office, refusing to answer questions.

Mr Walker has been under pressure to resign since it was revealed that he had been accused of domestic abuse over four decades by three former wives and a teenage daughter. He is now also being investigated by Fife Police over rape allegations in an assault said to have taken place more than 20 years ago.

Mr Walker issued a statement saying he had "never assaulted anyone". On Tuesday, he admitted that he had slapped his second wife, Anne, after she threatened to leave him.

His statement said: "When my second marriage ended, as with my first, I took legal advice and was advised that if I wanted to save the marriage, I should defend the divorce action.

"Otherwise, I should leave my then wife's divorce action to proceed, which I duly did."

He said a decision not to defend divorce proceedings was not an admission.