SNP chiefs kept in dark over ‘ditch Greens’ plan

MEMBERS of the SNP’s governing body last night expressed ‘irritation’ that they were given no advance warning of Humza Yousaf’s decision to ditch the party’s Green bedfellows.

The National Executive Committee (NEC) yesterday discussed the chaos that has ensued after the First Minister’s decision to terminate the Bute House Agreement.

His allies insist he had been thinking about ending the power sharing pact for some time – and that he had made a judgment call.

On Thursday morning, after an emergency Cabinet meeting in which he is said to have had unanimous support for scrapping the agreement, Mr Yousaf publicly announced his seismic decision to part ways.

But at the first meeting of the NEC since, attendees expressed frustration that Mr Yousaf had not run the move past them first.

That is despite the committee being a key decision-making forum on party matters.

The ruling body is not believed to have discussed the recent re-arrest and charging of Peter Murrell, the party’s former chief executive, yesterday.

In the wake of questions about the committee’s transparency in April last year Mr Yousaf agreed to open up the books and carry out a governance review.

The party last night confirmed that the review had been completed and insisted the SNP had ‘already adopted a number of key recommendations’, saying others would require ‘constitutional change’ to be enacted.

A spokesman for the SNP said: ‘The NEC today met with First Minister and party leader Humza Yousaf.

‘The NEC said the party will be fully behind the First Minister in any vote of no confidence, and hoped that all independencesupporting MSPs will vote to make sure that he remains in position.’