HOLYROOD authorities are investigating the SNP over allegedly inappropriate use of public money to fund the party’s election campaign.
It is claimed that stamps paid by expenses have been used by SNP candidates to distribute leaflets to voters.
The complaint appears to have been made by an SNP staffer and was sent to Alison Johnstone, the Presiding Officer, alongside a screenshot of an internal discussion between some of the party’s office managers.
The screenshot shows part of a conversation of a WhatsApp group, called “Office Manager Chat”, which reportedly appears to have a timer for messages to be automatically deleted.
One individual, who is named as “Paul” in the conversation, posted a message that read: “Guys, the new stamps. Can they be traced?”
Asked by a member of Nicola Sturgeon’s (above) staff who purchased them and what they were being used for, the person who wrote the first message responded: “Can they be traced back to who purchased them?”
A member of SNP deputy leader Keith Brown’s office said she had “asked Rab in the mailroom and he said no”.
Another staff member said they were not aware of the stamps being traceable. Someone from the office of Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Social Justice Secretary, replied: “If they can then a few people may be up in front of corporate body…”
There is no suggestion that either Brown (above) or Somerville were aware of any issue regarding stamps, The Times reports.
MSPs are allowed to claim stamps and other items of stationery on expenses on the proviso they “must be used only for parliamentary duties and must not be used for any other purpose, including party political purposes”.
In an email to Johnstone, seen by The Times, the complainer said: “I am anonymously sharing a screenshot from the SNP office managers’ WhatsApp group chat due to my concerns that several MSPs are using stamps paid for by Scottish parliament expenses to pass to UK parliament election candidates for campaign activities such as sending target letters to hard-to-reach addresses.
“I’m concerned about this open discussion involving several members’ offices.”
A spokesperson for the SNP Holyrood group said: “The parliamentary rules are crystal clear that materials, including stamps, can only be used for parliamentary purposes such as representing constituents and campaigning on their behalf.
“These exchanges, whilst obviously light-hearted, are being investigated as is appropriate and we would expect the offices of MSPs of all parties to cooperate with the Parliamentary Corporate Body.”
A Scottish parliament spokesperson said: “We take the use of publicly funded resources very seriously. Officials are investigating the matter to establish whether there has been any misuse of parliamentary resources.”
