Cops probe claim of SNP fraud over £600k
• Police told cash raised to push for new independence vote was ‘misused’ • ... but party says allegation is part of ‘baseless dirty tricks campaign’
POLICE are probing claims of fraud within the SNP linked to £600,000 raised for the push for an independence referendum.
Nicola Sturgeon’s party is accused of fundraising specifically to press for a second vote on breaking up the Union – then allegedly spending the cash elsewhere.
It is believed the fraud allegation was made to police by a pro-independence activist in the latest round of the bitter civil war which has splintered the separatist movement.
A Police Scotland spokesman said yesterday: ‘We received an allegation of fraud around 4.40pm on Thursday, March 25, 2021. Inquiries are ongoing and at an early stage.’
Officers have been ordered to assess the allegations to see whether a formal investigation should be launched.
News of the probe comes only days after the First Minister admitted it was ‘not appropriate’ for two SNP branches to apply for £20,000 in coronavirus support cash.
The SNP said last night that the fraud allegations were part of a ‘dirty tricks campaign’ and ‘utterly baseless’.
The party also emphatically denied claims made on a pro-independence blog that Ms Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell, the SNP’s chief executive, had been interviewed by police. However, there have been concerns for some time about the state of the party’s finances and the £600,000 raised for a referendum.
Three senior officials sensationally resigned from the SNP’s finance and audit committee during an explosive meeting of the party’s governing body last month.
At the time, sources told The Scottish Mail on Sunday that Frank Ross, an Edinburgh councillor; Allison Graham, of Mid Scotland and Fife; and Cynthia Guthrie, a company director, had asked to see the full accounts and resigned when Mr Murrell refused.
Ms Guthrie is now standing for election next month as a candidate for Alex Salmond’s Alba Party in the South of Scotland.
The Holyrood vote has become increasingly dominated by the war between the SNP and Alba – and the personal feud between Ms Sturgeon and her former mentor.
Several high-profile Nationalists have defected from the SNP to Alba, including MPs Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey.
Last night, opposition parties accused the Nationalists of being consumed by their own civil war instead of focusing on how to rebuild the economy after the Covid pandemic.
Scottish Tory chief whip Miles Briggs said: ‘While we remain entirely focused on blocking a divisive independence referendum and building back from the pandemic, the Nationalists are at war with each other.
‘Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP are no longer content with dividing our country, as they turn on one other with increasing venom.
‘These serious allegations of fraud must be fully investigated, without fear or favour, to establish if there has been any criminality.’
Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: ‘The departure of three members of the SNP’s finance committee last month rightly raised questions.
‘This is a concerning development which requires swift answers.’
Alistair Carmichael MP, election campaign chief for the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said: ‘This is the latest story that shows something rotten in the state of the SNP.
‘They have been in power too long and have taken the people of Scotland for granted.
‘The various internal conflicts within the party are more important to them than the recovery. They need to be removed and replaced by parties like the Liberal Democrats, who will put recovery first.’
The SNP hopes to win a majority in the Scottish parliament election and then demand another referendum. However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been clear he will not agree to another vote.
The SNP has threatened to then hold an illegal, wildcat referendum, without Westminster’s consent.
It insists it still has £600,000 ready to be used in this campaign.
A spokesman said: ‘There have been attempts by opponents of the SNP to stir this up for some time. It is part of an ongoing dirty tricks campaign and, like most conspiracy theories, it is utterly baseless.
‘The SNP has no knowledge of any investigation but will be more than happy to set out the facts should questions be asked of us by any appropriate authority.
‘The money has helped us set up an Independence Unit, make other preparations, and budget for £600,000 of independence-related campaigning in the year ahead.’
On Friday, the First Minister
‘Must fully investigate, without fear or favour’
admitted it had been wrong for SNP branches to have claimed Covid support cash.
The Arbroath and Montrose branches made successful business grant applications to Angus Council last year, both receiving £10,000.
Arbroath councillor and branch treasurer Alex King claimed the rules did not initially specify that political parties were not entitled.
But Ms Sturgeon said yesterday that it would not be an appropriate use of public money.