By Jane Chilton, Scotland Correspondent
The Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore has called on the Westminster and Scottish governments to work together to change parliamentary law - which could force disgraced MP Bill Walker to resign.
The 71-year-old Independent MSP for Dunfermline was found guilty of domestic abuse charges involving his three ex-wives and step-daughter spanning 28 years between 1967 and 1995.
He denied any wrongdoing throughout a two-week trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, and is currently awaiting sentence.
Walker has insisted he will not step down from his position as an elected MSP and, under parliamentary law, little can be done to force him out of office.
He faces a maximum of 12 months in prison, but parliamentarians are automatically expelled only if they are jailed for more than a year.
The rules are laid down by Westminster and cannot be changed by Holyrood.
Michael Moore says Bill Walker should have resigned Mr Moore has called for a meeting of the Westminster Government and the Scottish Government to jointly work together to change the law.
Mr Moore told Sky News: "It is wrong for someone convicted of domestic abuse to continue to serve as an MSP.
"The right course of action would have been for Bill Walker to resign.
"There is currently no sign of that that is to happen and I am writing to the Presiding Officer and Scotland's party leaders with a view to finding the right outcome to deal with all the relevant issues that this case raises."
Options that could be considered include devolving further powers to Holyrood to enable the Parliament to remove MSPs from their seats in such cases.
On Thursday, Scotland's presiding officer, Tricia Marwick, instructed officials to examine whether Walker's salary could be stopped if he is sentenced to prison, as Holyrood may be able to make decisions on MSP pay provision without having to refer to Westminster.
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