Politics newest information: Yousaf insists he will not give up and can ‘battle’ makes an attempt to oust him

The overtures were immediately rebuffed by Mr Harvie, who said Mr Yousaf’s decision to abruptly tear up their power-sharing pact meant the Greens could no longer trust him.

Mr Harvie called on the SNP to put forward a new first minister who was “capable of gaining the support of the majority of parliament”.

Should the Greens stick to their position, it would likely leave Mr Yousaf’s fate in the hands of Ash Regan, the only representative of Alex Salmond’s Alba Party.

Ms Regan updated Alba members with a long list of demands she is planning to submit to Mr Yousaf, who described her as “no great loss” when she quit his party last year.

These included having SNP politicians sign a “declaration of Scottish sovereignty”, implementing the findings of the Cass Review into child gender services in Scotland and attempting to save the Grangemouth oil refinery.

Sources close to Mr Yousaf suggested that nothing would be off the table in a series of meetings he is hoping to arrange with party leaders next week, when he will attempt to persuade the Greens or Ms Regan to keep him in post.

The SNP leader insisted on Friday on a hastily arranged visit to Dundee, where he pledged £80 million for affordable housing, that he was “very confident” of winning the confidence vote.

Some SNP figures believe that Mr Yousaf is likely to have to step down within days, saying they had been left “dumbfounded” by his actions in humiliating the Scottish Greens when it should have been obvious he would still need their support.

“I fully intend to not just win that [confidence] vote but I intend to fight to make sure that the Government continues to deliver on the priorities of the people,” Mr Yousaf said.

Referring to the Scottish Greens, he added: “I don’t regret the ending of the Bute House [coalition] Agreement but I’ve heard their upset, I’ve heard their anger. I can honestly say that was not the intention.

“That upset and anger that wasn’t meant from me and I look forward to hopefully a response from Patrick and Lorna to the letter I intend to write them in the coming days.”

He later appeared irritated when it was put to him by an ITV journalist that “it’s over” and he was “coming across like the knight from Monty Python, saying it’s a flesh wound” after both his arms had been chopped off.

“That’s maybe a really good line that you practised in the mirror but actually I intend to fight and to win that vote of no confidence,” Mr Yousaf replied. “I believe I can do that.”

‘Scotland deserves a fresh start’

The Scottish Greens did not rule out backing the Labour motion of no confidence in the entire Scottish Government, with senior sources saying a decision would be made next week.

If successful, it would not automatically lead to a Holyrood election but one would have to be called if a new first minister could not be voted in by MSPs within 28 days.

Alternatively, if the Tory plan succeeds, Mr Yousaf could potentially announce his intention to resign but remain in post for several weeks while an SNP leadership contest takes place.

An election would then only take place if MSPs did not approve the new SNP leader as first minister.

Mr Sarwar said: “It’s a matter now of when – not if – Humza Yousaf will step down as First Minister.

“It would be untenable for the SNP to assume it can impose another unelected first minister on Scotland. The people of Scotland deserve a fresh start – this can only come with a Scottish election.”

Mr Yousaf’s handling of removing the Greens from the Government has bewildered some of his senior members.

He initially claimed his decisive action in unilaterally scrapping the deal signed by Nicola Sturgeon was a sign of leadership, despite spending previous days defending it.

But his political career was on the line within hours, when his former coalition partners announced they would back the no-confidence motion that the Tories quickly lodged.

Allies of Mr Yousaf admitted he had been taken aback by the speed, anger and strength of the Green response.

“I am honestly dumbfounded,” one SNP parliamentarian said. “What was he thinking?

“It was the right decision to end the coalition but the way he handled it is incomprehensible. He must have realised he could face a confidence vote so to humiliate the Greens so publicly made no sense.”

‘Let Scotland down’

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, said Mr Yousaf’s attempts to make amends with the Greens amounted to a “desperate and humiliating attempt by a lame duck First Minister to save his job”.

He added: “Humza Yousaf has failed Scotland, his Government is in meltdown and, despite his bluster, he knows he’s finished.

“He has the cheek to claim he now seeks compromise with opposition parties when he and the SNP have divided Scotland at every turn. The only letter I want to see from Humza Yousaf is one announcing his resignation.

“The Scottish Conservative vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf will go ahead and my party is urging every MSP disillusioned with his dismal leadership to back it.”

Gillian MacKay, the Green MSP, broke down in tears live on BBC Radio Scotland when discussing the end of the coalition deal.

She said that Mr Yousaf was saying to the Greens that “you’re dumped but can we still be friends” and that an apology would not now be enough.

“Humza has done this to himself,” she said. “There’s a lot of hurt and upset. It’s a bit late for an apology, what Humza needs is a time machine to go back and undo the decision he made.”

She added: “We’ve had two-and-a-half years of working really well together and it’s really sad that’s all been undone by one person. I’ve got some really good friends in that Government, who I know are hurting as much as we are. We don’t want to be in this position but it’s the First Minister who’s put us here. This First Minister has let Scotland down.”