The Scottish National party is facing a “pretty critical moment” and will “be in trouble” unless the leadership takes “decisive action”, Kate Forbes has said.
The former Holyrood finance secretary, in her first interview since losing the leadership contest to Humza Yousaf, said reports about the party’s finances had been “mindblowing”.
Yousaf, Scotland’s new first minister, has attempted to stamp his authority on his already beleaguered administration. But his actions have been devastated by the arrest of the Scottish National party’s treasurer hours before a major policy statement.
After the statement – which notably delayed, redrew or reversed a number of his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon’s key policies – opposition leaders told Yousaf his government was “not functioning” and that any attempt at a relaunch had been “utterly torpedoed” by the arrest.
Forbes told BBC Radio 4’s Leading Scotland Where? programme, which airs on Wednesday evening: “We need decisive and quick action or we will be in trouble.
“I think right now, people are watching with astonishment, but they want to see leadership in dealing with it and resolving it.”
Police Scotland said Colin Beattie, 71, the SNP MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh and a former banker, had been taken into custody on Tuesday morning and was being interviewed by detectives as part of an investigation into the party’s funding and finances. He was released without charge later that day, pending further investigation.
The SNP’s former chief executive Peter Murrell – who is married to Sturgeon – has been arrested and questioned, before being released without charge. Officers searched the couple’s home.
Forbes said the couple were “obviously a very good team in the sense of managing the SNP”. But she added: “There’s no question that since then there have been lots of questions about transparency, the integrity of the systems and structures, and it doesn’t matter how slick the optics are, you need good governance.”
In a stark warning to Yousaf, Forbes said the SNP was “trusted” on various policy areas, adding: “What the people of Scotland want is good education, a good functioning NHS, a growing, well-performing economy … If we can fix and sort the problems within our own party quickly and ensure we are delivering on those external issues, then I think we can continue to build on the trust and success.
“The danger will be if there is an absence of decisive and quick action.”
She continued: “We are at a pretty critical moment and it will be the response and the reaction that determines how big a problem this is for the SNP.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “Under the fresh leadership of Humza Yousaf, the SNP has put in place the mechanisms to improve transparency and governance within the party.
“Undoubtedly, the last week has been tough for party members but Humza Yousaf is working hard to maintain the strong trust Scottish voters have placed in the SNP at election after election in recent years.”
