SNP chief executive Peter Murrell has resigned amid the possibility of a no confience vote.
Reports had suggested members of the SNP’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) threatened a vote of no confidence in him. It follows the departure of the SNP media chief Murray Foote, who left on Friday amid a row over the party’s membership numbers.
In a statement, Mr Murrell said: “Responsibility for the SNP’s responses to media queries about our membership number lies with me as chief executive. While there was no intent to mislead, I accept that this has been the outcome. I have therefore decided to confirm my intention to step down as chief executive with immediate effect.
“I had not planned to confirm this decision until after the leadership election.
“However as my future has become a distraction from the campaign I have concluded that I should stand down now, so the party can focus fully on issues about Scotland’s future.
“The election contest is being run by the National Secretary and I have had no role in it at any point.”
Mr Murrell went on to say that he was proud of what the party had achieved in his lifetime and that he will continue to work for independence.
Earlier this week, it emerged that the party had lost 30,000 members in just over a year.
Mr Foote said that after speaking to the party’s HQ, he had issued responses to the media which had “serious issues” and he later decided there was a “serious impediment” to his role.
On Thursday, the party revealed membership as of February 15 this year was 72,186, having fallen from 103,884 in 2021.
This corroborated a story in the Sunday Mail in February around the SNP losing 30,000 members, something Mr Foote had strongly denied at the time.
On Saturday, the Herald newspaper reported a senior member of the NEC said: “We have the numbers. There’s not a hope in hell that Peter can survive a no confidence motion.”
Earlier, SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes had acknowledged “extraordinary turmoil” in the party.
