STEWART Hosie was not among the SNP MPs to attend a meeting in the House of Commons last night with Nicola Sturgeon.
It is understood Hosie may have had parliamentary engagements when the First Minister met the group of parliamentarians to mark their first year at Westminster.
The meeting ran to just under two hours and the SNP leader was said to be “positive” and “encouraging” about their work over the past year.
During the event Sturgeon reaffirmed her commitment to a summer independence initiative and discussed the task of persuading a section of No voters to support independence.
Hosie announced on Sunday he would step down as deputy party leader at the party’s autumn conference in a move which followed allegations over his private life.
The MP said he wanted to “apologise for any hurt and upset” he has caused and will step back from the role to concentrate on his constituency, responsibilities at Westminster and his health.
He is alleged to have had an affair with journalist Serena Cowdy, previously said to have been involved with SNP MP Angus MacNeil, who represents Na h-Eileanan an Iar.
Discussing last night’s meeting a source told The National: “I’ve been told there were about 35 MPs at the meeting. Stewart wasn’t there, though Angus was. The mood was chipper and the FM made the MPs feel appreciated. There is sympathy for Stewart among the group, but his resignation didn’t come up. There were lots of questions including ones about the summer independence initiative and the FM discussed the initiative and about reaching out and working with others.”
Earlier yesterday, Sturgeon insisted there was no need for Hosie to quit as deputy leader of the party’s Westminster group.
She praised the politician for doing the “right thing in difficult circumstance” by standing down as deputy leader of the party nationally, but said there was no reason for him to leave the same post in London.
“I think we have moved on from the sense that personal issues, issues relating to somebody’s private marriage, necessarily affect their ability to do their job. So I think Stewart’s done the right thing in difficult circumstances...These are difficult issues to deal with. They are fundamentally personal and private issues.”
The First Minister insisted the Dundee East MP, who announced last week he and his wife, Health Secretary Shona Robison, were separating, had taken the decision to stand down himself.
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