Deputy First Minister Shona Robison is remaining tight-lipped over whether the SNP will suspend Highland MSP Fergus Ewing.
The senior SNP politician was quizzed about potential disciplinary action against the outspoken Inverness and Nairn MSP on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show.
The Times reported on Friday that the SNP leadership will move to take the whip from the veteran backbencher after a series of rebellions.
This includes voting against Green minister Lorna Slater in a confidence vote over her handling of the botched deposit return scheme.
But the punishment process was delayed following the death of his mother SNP trailblazer Winnie Ewing in June.
By-election delays?
However, reports in the Sunday Mail suggest plans to oust Mr Ewing could be derailed over fears it will damage the SNP vote in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election next month.
His mother famously won a by-election in Hamilton in 1967, becoming only the second SNP MP to be elected to Westminster.
Asked if Mr Ewing will be suspended this week, Ms Robison said: “That is a matter for the parliamentary group, not for me as a government minister.”
But later questioned if he should, she added: “I’m not going to discuss somebody’s situation.
“These are really difficult issues that people have to wrestle with and the group will make that decision.”
Rebellions against SNP
Mr Ewing has rebelled against a growing number of government policies including controversial proposals for highly protected marine areas (HPMAs), gender recognition reform and the deposit return scheme.
He has also spoken out in strong terms about the government’s failure to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
And he described the SNP’s green coalition partners as “wine bar revolutionaries”.
The SNP veteran, who first entered parliament in 1999, was named MSP of the year at the Holyrood Magazine Awards on Thursday.
In his acceptance speech, he took aim at what he called a year of “flushable Scottish government policies”, which he joked were destined for the “Scottish Government official policy recycling unit”.
If suspended, he would be the second high-profile example of the SNP taking disciplinary action against a parliamentarian in recent weeks.
Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil was expelled from the SNP last month after he refused to immediately rejoin the group after being suspended following a row with chief whip Brendan O’Hara.
Mr Ewing said he was unable to comment.
The SNP was approached to comment.