Humza Yousaf has put the kibosh on his deputy leader's call for SNP MPs to do less work at Westminster.

Over the weekend, Keith Brown said the party should rethink their relationship with Westminster as a result of the chaos in the Commons when their motion on a ceasefire in Gaza was usurped by Labour.

READ MORE: Keith Brown: SNP MPs could do less at Westminster before election

In the weeks since the vote, all but one of the SNP’s MPs have backed a motion expressing no confidence in the Speaker.

Sir Lindsay Hoyle apologised after he broke with precedent, and ignored the advice of his clerk to allow Labour to amend an SNP opposition motion.

He then promised the party they could have an emergency debate on the situation in the Middle East before u-turning.

SNP sources said last week that the party was considering a campaign of “disengagement” with day-to-day parliamentary activities as a result.

In an article for the Herald’s sister paper, the Sunday National, Mr Brown said he had not previously backed such a plan, but now thought it worth considering.

He wrote: “Given the ‘diet democracy’ of the UK and the denial of democracy to Scotland, it seems we now need to examine whether it is right to confer any legitimacy on an institution determined to deny democracy in Scotland.

“Some have believed for many years that Scotland should withdraw from Westminster, while others believe it is necessary to be there, to make arguments on Scotland’s behalf, to promote and protect Scotland’s interests. I have tended to agree with this.

“But when the institution can so easily be manipulated to thwart Scotland’s representatives, the issue needs, in my view, to be re-examined.”

Taking to X, the site formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday night, the First Minister appeared to reject Mr Brown’s call.

“When @theSNP is winning, the cause of independence is winning.

“And the converse is absolutely true. If those who oppose independence are winning, they'll take that as a mandate for further Westminster rule.

“That's why we need SNP MPs at Westminster, standing up for Scotland.”

The tweet was also shared by SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn.

The idea was also given short shrift by deputy First Minister Shona Robison when she was asked about it on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show.

She said: “I think our SNP parliamentary group at Westminster has an important role to play in leading on issues like, for example, Gaza when they brought forward a debate that recognised... the need for an immediate ceasefire and talked about the collective punishment of millions of people, and I think that is where the SNP is at its best, leading on these issues.

“There is a debate to be had in terms of the role of our parliamentary group but from my perspective they are best when they are highlighting key important issues and leading from the front, as they have been doing on the issue of Gaza for example.”

Asked if she would be worried if they were talking about withdrawing, she said: “I’m not aware that they are talking about that.”

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Mr Brown later took to X to row back on his own call. "The SNP's position is to engage, and there is no prospect of that changing for the general election. In the meantime, it's vital we have SNP MPs there to stand up for Scotland's interests and resist any efforts at Westminster to uhttps://www.heraldscotland.com/admin/ndermine our voice and stifle legitimate debate."

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said Mr Yousaf had "lost control of his party."

She added: “We already knew that London SNP do not listen to the First Minister – now we know his own sidekick thinks Humza Yousaf hasn’t the authority to set out party policy.

“While the SNP fight like rats in a sack, the people of Scotland are being failed.

“Only Scottish Labour will stand up –  not stand aside – for Scotland.

“While the SNP won’t even turn up for Scotland, Labour will put Scotland at the heart of the next government."

Scottish Tory chair, Craig Hoy tweeted:” So @KeithBrownSNP that’s you slapped down by the boss.

"Your half-baked plan exposed the fact that your distracted and divided party are now split on central elements of strategy."