The “Sturgeon resigned because of sexism” pundits in shambles.
Senior members of the SNP are braced for Nicola Sturgeon’s imminent arrest in the wake of detectives interviewing her husband and the party treasurer amid an investigation into party finances.
Senior MPs and MSPs claim it is “inevitable” that the former first minister will be interviewed under caution or as a witness in the coming weeks.
Sturgeon is the only senior SNP official named on the party’s most recent financial accounts who has not been arrested. The former first minister appears on accounts for the 2021-22 financial year as one of three registered officers, alongside Peter Murrell, the former chief executive, and Colin Beattie, the treasurer. It is understood she has not been spoken to by police but has previously said she would “fully co-operate” if required.
She is not attending the Scottish parliament this week, with her spokeswoman claiming she did not want to overshadow policy announcements by Humza Yousaf, her successor.
Beattie, 71, the MSP for Midlothian North & Musselburgh and a former banker, was yesterday arrested at his home in Eskbank, Dalkeith, as part of Operation Branchform, an investigation into possible fundraising fraud. He was later released without charge.
It is the second high-profile arrest made by officers examining concerns about how £600,000 raised by SNP supporters specifically to fund a second independence referendum campaign had been spent. Two weeks ago Murrell, who is married to Sturgeon, was interviewed for 11 hours by police.
One SNP politician said the police activity had been a “drip, drip, drip” of damaging headlines before adding: “Nicola must be next to be interviewed, it’s inevitable.” Another said: “She has to be next.” A third told The Times: “They’ve interviewed witnesses and now they are on to suspects. It was the small fry and now it’s the big people, it’s the way the police work.” A fourth said: “It’s obvious there’s a list and Nicola’s name is on it.”
Senior SNP figures last night complained that the timing of Beattie’s arrest “stinks” after he was detained just hours before Yousaf made a key speech to the Scottish parliament to set out his policy vision as first minister.
Eyebrows had already been raised by the high-profile nature of raids this month on the Glasgow home of Sturgeon and Murrell. Some sources complained that the response, which included uniformed officers marching in and out of the party’s headquarters, close to the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh, was “disproportionate”.
Yousaf said yesterday that he had not spoken to Sturgeon “in the last couple of weeks” as he rejected calls to suspend both her and her husband from the
SNP. Yousaf told journalists at Holyrood: “I haven’t spoken to Nicola in the last couple of weeks, but I will get to speak to Nicola, I am certain I will. But one thing Nicola and I will not be talking about is the police investigation. That would be wholly inappropriate.”
Meghan Gallacher, the Scottish Tory deputy leader, said Yousaf should “tackle this scandal head-on and prove he is his own man” by suspending the former first minister and her husband.
Gallacher said at Holyrood: “The SNP is in total meltdown. Its former chief executive and now its current treasurer have been arrested amid a police investigation into the party’s finances. And leaked footage has shown Nicola Sturgeon trying to shut down scrutiny.”
Craig Hoy, the chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party, called for Beattie, Murrell and Sturgeon to be suspended from the SNP. “This extremely serious matter is escalating by the day and everyone in the SNP has a duty to be as transparent as possible about what they knew and when,” he said.
Yousaf said it was a “really important point of natural law that people are presumed innocent until guilty”.
He said he would consider the situation if charges were brought by police, saying if that was the case “we may well have to take that course of action”.
The first minister said: “Of course if they are guilty I would take the appropriate action, whether that is suspension or going further than that. But it is really important due process takes place.”
Police Scotland confirmed that Beattie had been arrested “in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party”. Last night it said Beattie had been released without charge, “pending further investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party”.
A report will be submitted to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the force added.
A spokesman for the SNP said: “We have no comment on a live police investigation.”
Beattie was the SNP’s national treasurer between 2004 and 2020, losing the position to Douglas Chapman. However, Chapman, the MP for Dunfermline & West Fife, quit the post in 2021, claiming he was not being given the required information to carry out the job.
Beattie reclaimed the post soon afterwards, and was reported to have told the party’s ruling body on Saturday that the SNP would struggle to balance the books. The reports have been disputed by senior figures including Ian Blackford, the former Westminster leader.
There was no sign of police activity outside Beattie’s home yesterday morning, or outside his constituency office.
Sir Keir Starmer, the UK Labour leader, said the SNP was in a “real mess”. During a visit to York University he was asked about the arrest of Beattie.
Starmer said: “The SNP developments are deeply concerning. Obviously there is a criminal investigation going on, so there is only so much I can say. But after 16 years in power, it has descended to this — a real mess — and those being let down are Scottish voters, who are entitled to better than this.”
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said the news of the arrest meant the SNP was no longer a functioning government. “This is an SNP mired in scandal, mired in division, talking to themselves about themselves, and the crisis that now engulfs the SNP is not just an indication of how they govern their party, but also how they govern our country,” he said.
Lol, who would have guessed that a de facto one-party system might lead to wrongdoing?!
Martial Law in Scotland next?
Nicola Sturgeon calls for an Independence vote as a protest against this possible arrest, blames Westminster /s
Couldn’t happen to a worse person.
And yet the majority of the Tory party will never get even caught with their sweet Russian money.
That is so sad. In my time in Scotland I found Sturgeon quite inspiring. It seems there is nowhere hope
Indipendence problem solved, the british way.
Naughty wee nippy
They’re best mates with Sinn Fein, none of this is a surprise.
11 comments
The “Sturgeon resigned because of sexism” pundits in shambles.
Senior members of the SNP are braced for Nicola Sturgeon’s imminent arrest in the wake of detectives interviewing her husband and the party treasurer amid an investigation into party finances.
Senior MPs and MSPs claim it is “inevitable” that the former first minister will be interviewed under caution or as a witness in the coming weeks.
Sturgeon is the only senior SNP official named on the party’s most recent financial accounts who has not been arrested. The former first minister appears on accounts for the 2021-22 financial year as one of three registered officers, alongside Peter Murrell, the former chief executive, and Colin Beattie, the treasurer. It is understood she has not been spoken to by police but has previously said she would “fully co-operate” if required.
She is not attending the Scottish parliament this week, with her spokeswoman claiming she did not want to overshadow policy announcements by Humza Yousaf, her successor.
Beattie, 71, the MSP for Midlothian North & Musselburgh and a former banker, was yesterday arrested at his home in Eskbank, Dalkeith, as part of Operation Branchform, an investigation into possible fundraising fraud. He was later released without charge.
It is the second high-profile arrest made by officers examining concerns about how £600,000 raised by SNP supporters specifically to fund a second independence referendum campaign had been spent. Two weeks ago Murrell, who is married to Sturgeon, was interviewed for 11 hours by police.
One SNP politician said the police activity had been a “drip, drip, drip” of damaging headlines before adding: “Nicola must be next to be interviewed, it’s inevitable.” Another said: “She has to be next.” A third told The Times: “They’ve interviewed witnesses and now they are on to suspects. It was the small fry and now it’s the big people, it’s the way the police work.” A fourth said: “It’s obvious there’s a list and Nicola’s name is on it.”
Senior SNP figures last night complained that the timing of Beattie’s arrest “stinks” after he was detained just hours before Yousaf made a key speech to the Scottish parliament to set out his policy vision as first minister.
Eyebrows had already been raised by the high-profile nature of raids this month on the Glasgow home of Sturgeon and Murrell. Some sources complained that the response, which included uniformed officers marching in and out of the party’s headquarters, close to the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh, was “disproportionate”.
Yousaf said yesterday that he had not spoken to Sturgeon “in the last couple of weeks” as he rejected calls to suspend both her and her husband from the
SNP. Yousaf told journalists at Holyrood: “I haven’t spoken to Nicola in the last couple of weeks, but I will get to speak to Nicola, I am certain I will. But one thing Nicola and I will not be talking about is the police investigation. That would be wholly inappropriate.”
Meghan Gallacher, the Scottish Tory deputy leader, said Yousaf should “tackle this scandal head-on and prove he is his own man” by suspending the former first minister and her husband.
Gallacher said at Holyrood: “The SNP is in total meltdown. Its former chief executive and now its current treasurer have been arrested amid a police investigation into the party’s finances. And leaked footage has shown Nicola Sturgeon trying to shut down scrutiny.”
Craig Hoy, the chairman of the Scottish Conservative Party, called for Beattie, Murrell and Sturgeon to be suspended from the SNP. “This extremely serious matter is escalating by the day and everyone in the SNP has a duty to be as transparent as possible about what they knew and when,” he said.
Yousaf said it was a “really important point of natural law that people are presumed innocent until guilty”.
He said he would consider the situation if charges were brought by police, saying if that was the case “we may well have to take that course of action”.
The first minister said: “Of course if they are guilty I would take the appropriate action, whether that is suspension or going further than that. But it is really important due process takes place.”
Police Scotland confirmed that Beattie had been arrested “in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party”. Last night it said Beattie had been released without charge, “pending further investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party”.
A report will be submitted to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the force added.
A spokesman for the SNP said: “We have no comment on a live police investigation.”
Beattie was the SNP’s national treasurer between 2004 and 2020, losing the position to Douglas Chapman. However, Chapman, the MP for Dunfermline & West Fife, quit the post in 2021, claiming he was not being given the required information to carry out the job.
Beattie reclaimed the post soon afterwards, and was reported to have told the party’s ruling body on Saturday that the SNP would struggle to balance the books. The reports have been disputed by senior figures including Ian Blackford, the former Westminster leader.
There was no sign of police activity outside Beattie’s home yesterday morning, or outside his constituency office.
Sir Keir Starmer, the UK Labour leader, said the SNP was in a “real mess”. During a visit to York University he was asked about the arrest of Beattie.
Starmer said: “The SNP developments are deeply concerning. Obviously there is a criminal investigation going on, so there is only so much I can say. But after 16 years in power, it has descended to this — a real mess — and those being let down are Scottish voters, who are entitled to better than this.”
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said the news of the arrest meant the SNP was no longer a functioning government. “This is an SNP mired in scandal, mired in division, talking to themselves about themselves, and the crisis that now engulfs the SNP is not just an indication of how they govern their party, but also how they govern our country,” he said.
Lol, who would have guessed that a de facto one-party system might lead to wrongdoing?!
Martial Law in Scotland next?
Nicola Sturgeon calls for an Independence vote as a protest against this possible arrest, blames Westminster /s
Couldn’t happen to a worse person.
And yet the majority of the Tory party will never get even caught with their sweet Russian money.
That is so sad. In my time in Scotland I found Sturgeon quite inspiring. It seems there is nowhere hope
Indipendence problem solved, the british way.
Naughty wee nippy
They’re best mates with Sinn Fein, none of this is a surprise.