The speaker of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, is facing a firestorm after the SNP were prevented from voting on their own opposition day motion with 57 MPs stating they have no confidence in him.
The party had put forward a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, with amendments put forward by both Labour and the Conservatives.
Mr Hoyle took the unusual step of deciding that the House would vote first on the Labour amendment, then the SNP motion, and finally the government's amendment.
The speaker was accused of helping Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to avoid a rebellion in his own party, many of whom would have voted for the original motion.
When the government refused to participate the amendment passed unopposed, meaning there was no vote at all on the SNP's motion.
After calls for him to return to the chamber to explain his move, Sir Lindsay apologised to MPs and vowed to hold talks with senior party figures.
Read More: The SNP and Labour scrapping over a Gaza ceasefire is politics at its worst
Amid shouts of “resign”, he said: “I thought I was doing the right thing and the best thing, and I regret it, and I apologise for how it’s ended up.”
He said he took the decision to allow all sides to “express their views” and after becoming “very, very concerned about the security” of MPs who have received personal threats over their stance on the Gaza conflict.
But SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said he would take significant convincing that the Speaker’s position was “not now intolerable” and claimed his party had been treated with “complete and utter contempt”.
He also called for an investigation as he appeared to suggest Sir Keir and Labour’s chief whip had sought to influence the Speaker ahead of his decision, which shadow ministers have denied.
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