Ex-minister Mark McDonald's out in the cold just days after Sturgeon said he was a 'good politician'

It was the second Holyrood suspension over sleaze in 24 hours, a day after Labour suspended its former interim leader Alex Rowley pending a misconduct probe.

Following his suspension, Mr McDonald said: "I have not been advised of any details relating to the information received by the party but I stand ready to fully cooperate with any investigation into this matter.

"I will make no further comment at this time and would ask that due process be allowed to take its course and that the privacy of my staff and my family is respected and that they be allowed to go about their daily lives without obstruction.”

Mr Rowley strongly denies any wrongdoing.

Mr McDonald, a married father-of-two, quit as minister for childcare and early years on November 4 after claiming his attempts at humour may have upset people.

Nicola Sturgeon initially downplayed the matter, saying his behaviour was of a kind “that some others may well have thought was not serious enough to resign”.

She also praised him, saying: “He’s a good MSP and he will continue to be so.”

The party insisted a single text message had led to a complaint being lodged against him.

However Mr McDonald’s story has slowly changed and the SNP has struggled to contain it.

It emerged that in his resignation letter to Ms Sturgeon he asked to return to the government in future, something the party had omitted from its public statements.

This week, Mr McDonald admitted causing a woman “considerable distress” and said he had accepted professional “support” from the SNP to change his behaviour.

Absent from Holyrood since his resignation, he returned to his constituency office in Aberdeen Donside yesterday, where he was confronted by the media.

He said he had reflected on his actions and had "apologised profusely" for them.

“I am seeking to change how I behave, and I believe people should be given a chance to change. I have asked for that chance and I hope my constituents will give me that chance."

However a few hours later, following further allegations, Mr McDonald was suspended.

A Scottish Conservative Party spokesman said: "It was clear from the outset there were many more questions hanging over this case.

"Nicola Sturgeon brushed those concerns off, and must now be questioning her own judgement over the whole fiasco."

On Wednesday, Scottish Labour suspended Mr Rowley after a former lover complained to a newspaper that he had made their relationship feel like “emotional blackmail and abuse”.

The 49-year-old, who went out with Mr Rowley in 2010 and 2011, came to view him as a “control freak”, and said that years after they broke up he sent her abusive text messages.

After Mr Rowley stepped aside as interim leader in response, Scottish Labour removed the whip from him at Holyrood, but he remains a Labour member.

The action against Mr McDonald, 37, an MSP since 2013, is more severe.

He has lost the party whip and been suspended as an SNP member.

The SNP said: “Following new information being received by the SNP over the course of the last 24 hours relating to the behaviour of Mark McDonald, he has been suspended from both the parliamentary group and the party while further investigation takes place. In the interests of due process and appropriate confidentiality no further comment will be made.”

Scottish Labour yesterday rejected claims it had covered up Mr Rowley’s activity, after it emerged it had known of allegations against him for five weeks.

Labour’s press office was told by media outlets on October 10 about claims of stalking and psychological harm, leading to the party issuing legal warnings against publication.

Mr Rowley, 53, an MSP for Mid Scotland & Fife and former election agent to Gordon Brown, refutes all the claims and says he will fight to clear his name. He also denies being questioned by police about the matter, despite reliable reports to the contrary.

However he has admitted that the police had contacted him on October 10 to inform him of a complaint made against him almost four years earlier, which he considered was now closed.

His spokesman said: “Alex was never questioned by the police in relation to this.

“He was first made aware of the allegations in October of this year and at no point prior to this did he have any knowledge of the complaint.”

A Scottish Labour spokesman said that at no point did the party receive a “formal complaint” about Mr Rowley, merely “unsubstantiated claims, with no evidence shared” from the press.

A spokesman said: “Whilst the party could not formally investigate these claims in the absence of evidence and a complaint, they were put to Mr Rowley, who completely refuted them. He did not disclose to the party police contact on 10 October 2017.

“Since the allegations were published, Labour in Holyrood has removed the whip from Mr Rowley, suspending him from the Scottish Labour parliamentary group.

“It is important that this process is fair and transparent.”