Nicola Sturgeon’s dad has backed claims the row over indyref2 donations is a plot to destroy the SNP. Robin Sturgeon shared a tweet which insisted the £600,000 currently the subject of a police investigation “isnae missing at all”.
The SNP is in the middle of a full blown crisis over a police probe into what happened to donations raised for a second referendum. Fraud cops last week arrested former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, whose wife is Nicola Sturgeon, but released him without charge.
Police officers also took boxes away from SNP headquarters and seized a £110,000 motorhome parked outside the Dunfermline home of Murrell’s elderly mum. However, some SNP loyalists have tried to dismiss the questions raised about party finances.
One Twitter user, @JMacreany, wrote: “The 600k that isnae missing at all!?!...This was all about destroying the SNP and Scotland’s bid for independence. Nothing more nothing less. Stay the course.” Robin Sturgeon retweeted this post to his 1,572 followers.
The @JMacreany tweet contained a link to an extensive Facebook post that tried to debunk claims of financial wrongdoing. It read: “Where is that £600k plus? We have all witnessed the opposition parties ask this question with the normal observation 'it’s been spent' and often telling SNP members and anyone else who will listen; we have all seen the bloggers happily repeat the lie – it is all they ever do incidentally and we have all seen MSM work in the same regard.
“Until now I have gone along with ignoring them, but the time has come to lay the lie to rest (as if that will happen!).”
Robin Sturgeon is a former council candidate who has failed to get elected to the local authority in North Ayrshire. In 2016, he lost out in a by-election following the resignation of Ruth Maguire, who had become an MSP. He then fell short in Irvine South ward in the following year’s council elections.
The former First Minister’s dad also attacked SNP MSP Ash Regan during the recent leadership campaign. Following suggestions Regan could take legal action to stop the vote after the resignation of Murrell during the contest weekend, he said: "I think it is becoming ever clearer that @AshReganSNP is not in this to win, but to destroy, aided and abetted by some in the party whose loyalties obviously lie elsewhere and by deranged others outwith the party who hope to gain from this."
He also appeared to have a dig at Regan and fellow leadership contender Kate Forbes, saying: “They want to be party leader so they…trash it’s record in government….question the integrity of the voting system… damage the reputation of the party….really quite unbelievable.”
Liberal Democrat MP Christine Jardine said: "The police should be allowed to get on with their investigation without all this speculation.”
Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “If Robin Sturgeon is claiming that this money isn’t missing at all, then you would expect his daughter and son-in-law to inform the police of its whereabouts so that the case could be closed.
“If, as he appears to believe, this furore is all about destroying the case for independence, it’s the ultimate act of self-sabotage by the SNP. The party could bring an end to the scandal and speculation now by opening their books to scrutiny and finding an auditor to sign off their accounts.”
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