COMMONS Speaker Lindsay Hoyle has rejected an application by the SNP to hold a fresh debate on a Gaza ceasefire after the party's opposition day descended into a "farce" last week.
SNP Westminster group leader Stephen Flynn raised a point of order in the House of Commons chamber on Monday afternoon, asking why the party's application for a debate under Standing Order 24 (SO24) had not been accepted.
Hoyle told the Aberdeen South MP he did not usually have to give reasons for refusing a debate, but said as a UK Government statement is due to be heard on Tuesday, there would be an opportunity for the issue to be discussed then.
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After Hoyle broke with convention during last week's opposition debate to allow a Labour amendment to be brought forward, scuppering any chance for the SNP to have a formal vote on their motion calling for an immediate ceasefire, he offered a SO24 debate following an apology.
He said at the time: "I regret it. I apologise to the SNP… I apologise and I apologise to the House. I made a mistake. We do make mistakes. I own up to mine.
“I would say that we can have an SO24 (Standing Order 24) to get an immediate debate because the debate is so important to this House."
However, on Monday, Hoyle rejected an application by the SNP for a fresh debate.
Raising a point of order, Flynn asked when the SNP's application for a debate under SO24 would be accepted.
Hoyle said that he did not usually have to set out his reasoning for rejecting an application but would do so due to the "exceptional circumstances".
"In determining whether a matter is proper to be discussed under standing orders, I must have regards to two criteria," he told the chamber.
"Firstly, the extent to which it concerns the responsibilities of the ministers of the Crown or could come within the scope of the ministerial action. I'm satisfied that that matter does not relate to the areas of ministerial responsibility and falls within the scope of the ministerial action."
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Hoyle added that he must also regard the "probability" of the issue for debate being brought to the House "by other means".
"The House came to a resolution on this matter on Wednesday last week," he continued.
"Further, I understand the Government is ready to make a relevant statement tomorrow, so there is a very imminent opportunity for this matter to come before the House. That is why I have decided the application for an emergency debate should not proceed."
The Speaker added that his decision did not mean MPs could not apply for a debate "at a later stage when circumstances might change", and said he had consulted his deputies and clerks on the issues before agreeing on the approach to take.
Hoyle has been facing calls to resign following the scenes in the Commons last week, with more than 70 MPs demanding a vote of no confidence in his position.
In response, Flynn said "Westminster is failing the people of Gaza" by blocking a vote.
"For months, the UK parliament has blocked SNP calls for an immediate ceasefire - and now it's blocking a vote on the concrete actions the UK Government must pursue to make an immediate ceasefire more likely," he added.
The SNP MP added that around 30,000 Palestinians, including women and children, had been killed "while Westminster has dithered and delayed".
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"The UK's strategy of equivocation has failed," he added.
It comes after the SNP demanded an investigation after a Labour MP admitted he had filibustered the party's debate to buy Keir Starmer time to stave off a rebellion.
The UK Labour leader has denied he did any more than urge the Speaker to allow the party's amendment to go ahead, stopping a formal vote being held on the SNP's motion that called for an "immediate ceasefire" and end to "collective punishment".
Instead, the Labour amendment was nodded through without a vote, to the fury of SNP and Tory MPs.
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