A former SNP media chief has called on a party rebel who regularly blasts the Government to be disciplined.
Murray Foote accused Fergus Ewing of being “downright rude” and claimed he believed he was “bigger than the party”.
He said the SNP veteran, son of SNP legend Winnie, had a sense of entitlement and urged action: “What’s the point of keeping a whip if it’s never cracked?”
The SNP leadership contest opened up divisions within the party, with MP and MSPs defying the Government on strategy and policy.
Ewing, a former Cabinet Secretary, has likened the deposit return scheme to the poll tax and derided the Greens as “wine bar revolutionaries”.
He also infuriated colleagues by tearing up a Government fisheries consultation in the chamber.
Foote, a former SNP spin doctor, wrote in the Record that Ewing’s behaviour was an “extraordinary spectacle”.
He wrote: “It was downright rude. Ewing would have gone ballistic if a party colleague had behaved in such a manner when he was a minister.”
He said the party could no longer do nothing: “If Ewing is continually let off the hook, others will believe they too can act with impunity - and that again only benefits the opposition.
Foote, a former Record editor, added: “His histrionics are the latest in a repeat pattern of very public dissent. A cynic might consider he is still in the throes of a 24-month huff since he left the government.
“Or perhaps he believes, as a son of the venerated Ewing dynasty, his surname entitles him to behave as he chooses, free of consequence. If so, it’s time he was dissuaded of the notion.
He continued: “If a select few elected members at Holyrood and Westminster refuse to police themselves, then the leadership will have no option but to impose discipline.
"And, given recent events perhaps an amnesty might be appropriate, to wipe clean the slate of recent misdemeanours and start over with the clear warning that future serious breaches will be met with equally serious consequences.
“The bonds of unity in the SNP might very well remain stronger than the electorate currently believe, but in politics, perception is reality and behaviour like Fergus Ewing’s is giving off some serious division vibes.
He wrote: “The leadership team urgently needs to find a mechanism to restore that fabled party unity.
“Time needs to be called on the behaviour of politicians who mistakenly believe they are bigger than the party. The clock is ticking.”
Ewing hit back: “I have fought for fishermen and oil and gas workers for 50 years and will continue to do so”.
“I make no apology for standing up for hard working Scottish people; And for the people that have elected me on 6 successive occasions who want me to speak out on matters such as the A9 dualling”.
"As the great poet Edwin Morgan said about what people want from their elected MSP representatives: 'they don’t want a nest of fearties'.
Ewing was at the centre of a row last year when it emerged that civil servants had accused him of bullying.
But the Government said it was unable to comment on the resolution of the probe and to this day the outcome of the investigation has never been revealed.
First Minister Humza Yousaf has said he will look again at whether he can publish the findings.
Foote resigned in March after he gave an inaccurate statement to the media about the SNP’s falling membership figures.
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: “Mr Foote’s loyalty to a party with a culture of secrecy that is so pervasive that it cost him his job is a thing to behold.
“If Murray Foote has an issue with politicians that think they are above their party, he should look no further than his former paymaster and current sometime backbencher Nicola Sturgeon.”
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