THE SNP has been accused of dragging its feet over whether shamed MSP Bill Walker would remain a member of the party after Tory leader Ruth Davidson claimed the deadline had passed for his appeal against expulsion.
The Dunfermline MSP was expelled by the nationalists over allegations of serial domestic abuse and the party later promised a statement on his future once his appeal was heard.
Ms Davidson wrote to SNP leader Alex Salmond saying the deadline had gone and people deserved to be reassured such allegations were treated seriously by the SNP when selecting candidates for parliament.
Ms Davidson said: "Throughout this whole process the SNP has twisted and turned, first claiming no knowledge of allegations surrounding Mr Walker's past before being forced into admitting such information was indeed received.
"Some of the allegations Bill Walker has faced are among the most serious, and clearly deemed severe enough for the SNP to expel him once they came to the public's attention.
"But why didn't the party act when similar allegations were brought to the party's attention several years earlier?"
An SNP spokeswoman said: "Ruth Davidson is entirely wrong about the timescale for this issue to be determined.
"Mr Walker has submitted his appeal statement and this has now been passed to the party's appeals committee which will convene in due course."
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