Humza Yousaf has no plans to expel rebel Fergus Ewing from the SNP despite his scathing criticism of the party.
The first minister insisted his internal critics would not be banished simply for disagreeing with key policy decisions.
Veteran Highland nationalist Mr Ewing has become a thorn in Mr Yousaf’s side, regularly slating the SNP’s Holyrood power-sharing deal with the Greens.
On Tuesday, the Inverness and Nairn MSP told the P&J his party had lost its way and insisted he will continue to speak out even if he is kicked out of the SNP.
He has also been a vocal critic of the Scottish Government’s failure to meet key deadlines for the dualling of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
Mr Yousaf’s woes in the north of Scotland have been compounded by Western Isles MP Angus MacNeil’s decision to sit as an independent in Westminster.
Mr MacNeil was suspended for one week by the party earlier in July, but opted against returning to the fold once that had expired.
The first minister spoke to journalists at the launch of his government’s latest paper on what life could look like in an independent Scotland.
He told us: “Angus MacNeil and Fergus Ewing have been long-term critics of our deal with the Greens.
“They’ve been explicit about that, and while I disagree with them I respect their position.
“People aren’t going to be expelled or punished for criticising me as leader or criticising the party’s direction on certain positions.”
Mr Yousaf admitted there was an “important question” to be considered around party discipline, and said internal dissent will be discussed after the summer.
In June, doubts were cast over whether Mr Ewing would be allowed to remain in the SNP after he voted to oust Greens co-leader Lorna Slater from her ministerial post.
READ MORE: ‘Expelling me from the SNP won’t stop me fighting for A9 dualling’
On Tuesday, Mr Ewing told us: “Anyone who thinks that rapping me on the knuckles or expelling me from the group will make the slightest bit of difference does not know me.”
He added: “The atmosphere in the group is not particularly happy.
“I’ve read in the papers that they want to inflict pain on me.
“Another source said ‘Fergus Ewing is toast’.
“Well, I’m still waiting to be toasted.”
Mr Yousaf told us his party remains determined to upgrade the A9 despite delays to the project.
He said: “That agreement with the Greens doesn’t detract from our commitment at all to dual the A9 from Perth to Inverness. We’re making progress on that.”
The first minister also disagreed that the atmosphere within his party was bad, saying: “It’s not my experience.”
