MPs are calling for a Westminster inquiry into SNP finances in the wake of Peter Murrell's embezzlement from the party.
Tory MP Harriet Cross and Labour MP Douglas McAllister – who are both members of the Scottish Affairs Committee – have said the Westminster body could hold the inquiry if the Scottish Parliament fails to do so, according to The Scotsman.
Murrell – the estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon – appeared in court on Monday and admitted embezzling a total of £400,310.65 from the SNP between August 2010 and October 2022. He pleaded guilty and his sentencing will take place in June.
The cash was used to buy a range of items, including a motorhome, various luxury goods and two cars.
Cross, the MP for Gordon and Buchan, said: “I will be encouraging other parties on the Scottish Affairs Committee to back an inquiry in an effort to unearth the details and answers the public deserve.”
McAllister, the MP for West Dunbartonshire, added: “My preference is for the Scottish Parliament to investigate. However, if Holyrood fails to hold an inquiry then the Scottish Affairs Committee should do so.
“The SNP have received taxpayers' cash through short money."
The calls come after John Swinney rejected calls for an independent investigation.
Alex Neil, who served as both health secretary and social justice secretary in the SNP government, has also joined the calls – saying there “absolutely” should be an investigation and he wanted to see a senior lawyer appointed to probe the party’s governance arrangements and how it handles its finances.
But Swinney insisted no investigation would be “more detailed” than the one carried out by Police Scotland.
Speaking two days after former SNP chief executive Murrell appeared in court, the First Minister was clear that “there can be nothing more detailed than a police investigation”.
He said: “The police investigation has led to a criminal case. There has been a prosecution and there has been a guilty plea and there will be sentencing taking place as a consequence.
“So, all these issues have been looked at.
“We know what the problem was – the problem was criminal behaviour and the police have identified that and the individual involved has been prosecuted.
“You cannot get any inquiry more detailed than a police inquiry, and I think we should all respect the fact there has been a detailed inquiry into all the issues.”
Former SNP Westminster frontbencher Joanna Cherry KC has also demanded an “independent investigation into what occurred”, as she insisted there is a “wider public interest here that goes beyond the SNP”.
Sturgeon, who was SNP leader and Scottish first minister for much of that time, has already stated she had “no knowledge or suspicion whatsoever” her husband had bought the goods using party cash.
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