SNP Westminster leader Dave Doogan has hit back at calls for a "politically motivated” Westminster inquiry into Peter Murrell’s embezzlement.
The MP for Angus released a statement after reports suggested Labour and Tory MPs will use their majority on the Scottish Affairs Committee to push ahead with a probe.
Murrell pleaded guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP in May, and is due to be sentenced later this month.
In a letter to the committee’s chair Patricia Ferguson last month, Scottish Tory MP Andrew Bowie argued that due to the “gravity of the misconduct” involved and the “seniority” of Murrell’s role as SNP chief executive at the time, there are “unanswered questions surrounding governance and oversight”.
However, former SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn – now an MSP and Transport Secretary – said people in Scotland would take a “dim view” of Westminster interfering in the internal matters of a Scottish party.
And now Doogan, who reports had suggested was on the fence about a probe, has issued a statement saying that it would set a “dangerous precedent” that a future Reform UK government led by Nigel Farage would exploit to investigate rival parties.
Doogan is the sole SNP member of the Scottish Affairs Committee.
He urged MPs to instead look at issues that matter to the people of Scotland, such as the rising cost of living.
"If this inquiry goes ahead as suggested, it would be an unprecedented abuse of the House of Commons committee system – and a complete waste of taxpayers' money,” Doogan said.
"The SNP will call this party political stunt out for exactly what it is – a desperate attempt by Labour Party and Tory MPs to weaponise a taxpayer-funded Westminster committee to take pot shots at their political opponents.”
Doogan added that if a “blatantly partisan inquiry” did take place it would “create a dangerous precedent for investigating rival political parties that a Nigel Farage government will ruthlessly exploit”.
“Wiser heads in the House of Commons must surely see this for what it is,” he said.
"The police have already spent five years and more than two million pounds investigating Peter Murrell's embezzlement crimes against the SNP.
“When John Swinney became SNP leader, he fundamentally reformed the way the party works, and ensured a full governance review and stringent financial accountability measures within the party.
"The election in May shows that the public want their politicians to focus on the issues that really matter to voters like the cost of living and the NHS – not party political stunts.
“The SNP is doing just that, with new support for first time buyers, a massive childcare expansion, and more progress in bringing down NHS waiting lists."
It is understood the Scottish Affairs Committee will discuss whether or not to hold an inquiry into Murrell’s embezzlement on Tuesday, June 16.
Murrell is due to be sentenced on June 23.
