Nicola SturgeonHumza Yousaf
Colin Beattie has resigned as SNP treasurer following his arrest as part of a Police Scotland investigation into the party’s finances. The 71-year-old was taken into custody and released without charge on Tuesday. In a statement, Mr Beattie said he had resigned from his role with “immediate effect” and would be stepping back from his role on the public audit committee until the police investigation had concluded.
First Minister Humza Yousaf said the resignation was “the right thing to do” and that a new treasurer would be appointed as soon as possible. Police Scotland launched its Operation Branchform investigation into the SNP’s finances in July 2021 after receiving complaints about how donations were used.
Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who is married to former SNP leader and first minister Nicola Sturgeon, was arrested two weeks ago at the couple’s home in Glasgow before also being released without charge pending further inquiries. Officers spent two days searching the house, and also searched the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh. There have been newspaper reports that some people within the party are concerned that Ms Sturgeon could be the next person to be arrested in the inquiry.
Deputy First Minister Shona Robison said earlier on Wednesday that it would not be helpful to comment on the speculation and that she did not know if Ms Sturgeon had spoken to detectives. Ms Robison said she had sent Ms Sturgeon a message asking after her welfare and received a short reply.
Humza Yousaf has dismissed calls for Ms Sturgeon, Mr Murrell and Mr Beattie to be suspended from the party while the police investigation is ongoing, saying he believes in people being innocent until proven guilty. The party raised £666,953 through referendum-related appeals between 2017 and 2020 with a pledge to spend these funds on the independence campaign. Questions were raised after its accounts showed it had just under £97,000 in the bank at the end of 2019, and total net assets of about £272,000.
Opposition parties have criticised Humza Yousaf for not suspending Mr Beattie from the SNP and have accused him of being consumed by the chaos wracking his party. Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie said Mr Beattie’s resignation was the “right decision made by the wrong man” and criticised Mr Yousaf’s decision not to suspend those subject to police inquiries. Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton added that Mr Yousaf should have removed Mr Beattie as treasurer and gone further in suspending him from the party.
It means that Humza Yousaf is in temporary charge of the SNP’s finances but he told reporters he’s got enough on his plate and wants someone else appointed to the role as soon as possible. The party faces major challenges as the police investigation into its finances continues, including trying to find new auditors to replace those that quit seven months ago. A luxury motorhome was seized by officers from outside a property in Dunfermline on the same morning Mr Murrell was arrested.
Leaked video footage published by the Sunday Mail at the weekend showed Ms Sturgeon playing down fears about the party’s finances in a virtual meeting of the party’s ruling body in March 2021. The SNP’s former Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, has insisted that there was “nothing untoward” in the clip and claimed that the party’s finances are in “robust health”. However, The Sunday Times has reported that Mr Beattie told the NEC at the weekend that the SNP was struggling to balance its books due to a drop in member numbers and donors.
Colin Beattie has resigned as SNP treasurer following his arrest as part of a Police Scotland investigation into the party’s finances. The 71-year-old was taken into custody and released without charge on Tuesday, before announcing his resignation with “immediate effect”. First Minister Humza Yousaf said this was “the right thing to do” and that a new treasurer would be appointed as soon as possible.
Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, who is married to former SNP leader and first minister Nicola Sturgeon, was arrested two weeks ago at their Glasgow home before also being released without charge pending further inquiries. Officers spent two days searching the house, and also searched the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh. There have been newspaper reports that some people within the party are concerned that Ms Sturgeon could be the next person to be arrested in the inquiry. Deputy First Minister Shona Robison said it would not be helpful to comment on this speculation and that she did not know if Ms Sturgeon had spoken to detectives.
Humza Yousaf has dismissed calls for Ms Sturgeon, Mr Murrell and Mr Beattie to be suspended from the party while the police investigation is ongoing, saying he believes in people being innocent until proven guilty. The party raised £666,953 through referendum-related appeals between 2017 and 2020 with a pledge to spend these funds on the independence campaign. Questions were raised after its accounts showed it had just under £97,000 in the bank at the end of 2019, and total net assets of about £272,000.
Opposition parties have criticised Humza Yousaf for not suspending Mr Beattie from the SNP and accused him of being consumed by the chaos wracking his party. Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie said Mr Beattie’s resignation was the “right decision made by the wrong man” and criticised Mr Yousaf’s decision not to suspend those subject to police inquiries. Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton added that Mr Yousaf should have removed Mr Beattie as treasurer and gone further in suspending him from the party.
It means that Humza Yousaf is in temporary charge of the SNP’s finances but he told reporters he’s got enough on his plate and wants someone else appointed to the role as soon as possible. The party faces major challenges as the police investigation into its finances continues, including trying to find new auditors to replace those that quit seven months ago. A luxury motorhome was seized by officers from outside a property in Dunfermline on the same morning Mr Murrell was arrested.
Leaked video footage published by the Sunday Mail at the weekend showed Ms Sturgeon playing down fears about the party’s finances in a virtual meeting of the party’s ruling body in March 2021. The SNP’s former Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, has insisted that there was “nothing untoward” in the clip and claimed that the party’s finances are in “robust health”. However, The Sunday Times has reported that Mr Beattie told the NEC at the weekend that the SNP was struggling to balance its books due to a drop in member numbers and donors.
The resignation of Colin Beattie as SNP treasurer has cast a shadow over Humza Yousaf’s announcement of his government’s priorities for the next three years. Opposition parties have criticised Mr Yousaf for not suspending Mr Beattie from the SNP and accused him of being consumed by the chaos wracking his party. Questions have been raised about how donations were used and whether there is sufficient transparency within the party.
The police investigation into SNP finances continues with officers having searched both Mr Murrell and Ms Sturgeon’s home as well as party headquarters in Edinburgh. A luxury motorhome was also seized from outside a property in Dunfermline on the same morning Mr Murrell was arrested. Leaked video footage published by the Sunday Mail at the weekend showed Ms Sturgeon playing down fears about the party’s finances in a virtual meeting of its ruling body in March 2021.
The Sunday Times has reported that Mr Beattie told the NEC at the weekend that the SNP was struggling to balance its books due to a drop in member numbers and donors. It means Humza Yousaf is currently in temporary charge of SNP finances but he has said he has enough on his plate and wants someone else appointed to this role as soon as possible. The party faces major challenges ahead as it seeks new auditors to replace those who quit seven months ago.