ALBA MSP Ash Regan voting to oust a pro-independence government at Holyrood shows why the SNP could not trust the party as Humza Yousaf fought for his position, a Cabinet minister has said.

Health Secretary Neil Gray tore into Regan on the BBC’s Debate Night after she voted to support a no-confidence motion in the Scottish Government alongside Labour, the Tories and LibDems.

In the run-up to a planned vote of no confidence in Yousaf himself – which was eventually withdrawn after he resigned – Alba had been offering to support the First Minister if he satisfied a list of demands including progress on independence and a commitment to women’s rights.

READ MORE: Kelly Given: Humza Yousaf’s tenure will be remembered kindly

But Gray told the audience Regan’s actions at Holyrood on Wednesday demonstrated why the SNP would not have been able to trust Alex Salmond’s party.

After Regan argued she had set out “reasonable” proposals for Yousaf, Gray said: “We saw today that vote of no confidence motion fail in Holyrood.

“The Parliament has confidence in this Government which is important, but the Alba Party, Ash Regan, today decided to vote with the Better Together Unionist parties to bring down an independence-supporting Scottish Government.

“So I think that strikes the heart of the trust we feel we would not have been able to have and why it’s going to be so important going forward.”

Regan then interrupted Gray and suggested the Scottish Greens “took out” Yousaf as First Minister.

Gray then went on: “I agree with Ash that at this moment in time people are looking for clarity, consistency, stability, they are looking for unity, and that is why I think it is so important that in a situation where we have a minority government we are able to work across different parties, but it takes trust coming in both directions.

“It takes people coming forward with the ideas in good faith and having a proper grown-up discussion.”

Regan said the bar she had set for Yousaf was “so low it was basically a rope across the floor and yet he managed to trip over it”.

She went on to say the situation had turned into a “pantomime” at Holyrood.

“There are some very serious issues facing Scotland which I’m sure the public will want to see addressed,” Regan said.

“They don’t to see politicians bickering about what’s happening. They want us focused on delivering for the people of Scotland.”

The vote of no confidence in the Government failed by 70 votes to 58 with no abstentions.

Alba’s general secretary told The National Regan’s vote was "purely performative and in many ways irrelevant”.