A senior SNP MP has called for the party’s leadership election to be re-run after claims then-Chief Executive Peter Murrell shortened the race. Angus MacNeil is demanding a new ballot after Nicola Sturgeon’s husband was arrested as part of a fraud probe into party finances just nine days after the party’s 'preferred candidate' Humza Yousaf became First Minister.
The Western Isles MP believes the timing of Murrell’s arrest last week severely compromised the legitimacy of the vote, where Yousaf narrowly beat former finance minister Kate Forbes.
MacNeil said: “Peter Murrell appears to have intervened to significantly shorten the election process after the first minister surprised everyone with her resignation on February 15. We then had the issue of the media being misled on membership numbers, which led to communications director Murray Foote’s and Murrell’s resignation.
