SNP MSPs who voted against the Opt Out organ donation Bill that could have saved 70 lives a year did so on political grounds according to one of their colleagues.

John Mason, Shettleston MSP, who backed Anne McTaggart’s Transplantation Bill has said some of his party’s MSPs were put off by Labour, who he claims “politicised” the debate.

Mr Mason said he was disappointed the Bill was defeated, by 59 votes to 56 on Tuesday but then went on to suggest the Bill could have passed but the tone and tactics during the debate put others off.

He even suggested because Jackie Baillie summed up the debate for Labour some SNP MSPs could not vote in favour.

The Evening Times yesterday revealed the 24 SNP MSPs who has previously backed the campaign but then voted against the Bill.

On twitter the Mr Mason, one of 11 SNP who voted against the Scottish Government amendment, said Ms Baillie’s persona was a problem.

He said he was: “Disappointed that Organ Donation Bill defeated 59-56. Labour whipped & made debate too party political which lost support of some in SNP.”

He later explained three reasons why some voted the Bill down.

He said: “I think some SNP MSPs voted against as 1 Labour whipped, 2 Labour's aggressive tone, 3 Jackie Baillie.”

He said “Why choose Jackie Baillie to wind up that inevitably lost votes of waverers”

Anne McTaggart, the Labour MSP who brought the Bill forward said “petty politics and personality clashes” should have had no bearing on the vote.

Mr Mason expanded on his tweets and said the debate for some became seen in terms of a win for Labour and defeat for the Government.

He said: “It was politicised, which was unfortunate.

“Some SNP backbenchers, like me, were clear we were going to support the Bill no matter what.

“Some were swithering partly because of the government position and some who were open to persuasion and were leaning towards the bill.”

He said instead of the medical and ethical arguments or merits of saving lives it became a business as usual, us and them battle.

He added: “When it became clear Labour were whipped some thought ‘I’m not going to back them’.”

“It became about a being a win for Labour and defeat for government and unfortunately the Bill gets lost.”

Mr Mason said the tone was more like a budget debate and suggested personalities played a part in making some people’s minds up.

While it did not alter his view, he said: “Jackie Baillie doesn’t win people over from our side. That’s what politics is about, you can’t separate from the people involved.”

He said it would have been more sensible for someone else to have delivered Labour’s closing speech.

He said: “If Anne McTaggart had closed the debate, the Bill might have gone through. Jackie Baillie put folk off.”

Ms McTaggart has demanded an apology over Mr Mason’s claims SNP MSP were politically motivated in their voting.

She said: “This is a new low for Scottish politics. This Bill offered hope for families across Scotland who are waiting for an organ transplant.

"People's lives are at stake, so you would expect MSPs to put aside petty politics and personality clashes to do the right thing. When the opportunity came to be bold and make a transformative difference to the lives of hundreds of Scots the SNP Government was found wanting.

“This is important - politicians shouldn’t make easy promises if they won’t follow through with tough decisions.”

An SNP Spokesman said: “SNP MSPs had a free vote on this issue and voted according to their own views on the Bill.

“There is, however, a consensus from MSPs across Scotland’s political parties that we should do all we can to ensure that donor organs are available for those who need them.

“That’s why if re-elected the SNP government will consult on options early in the next parliament, including the development of a soft opt-out organ donation system.”