Colin Beattie is stepping down as the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) treasurer after being arrested in connection with a police investigation into the party’s finances.
Mr Beattie, 71, was arrested on Tuesday before being released without charge “pending further investigation”.
In a statement released through the party on Wednesday, Mr Beattie also said he would be “stepping back” from his role on Holyrood‘s Public Audit Committee until the probe has concluded.
“This afternoon, I informed the party leader that I will be stepping back from my role as SNP national treasurer with immediate effect,” he said.
“On a personal level, this decision has not been easy, but it is the right decision to avoid further distraction to the important work being led by [SNP leader] Humza Yousaf to improve the SNP’s governance and transparency.
“I will continue to co-operate fully with Police Scotland’s inquiries and it would be inappropriate for me to comment any further on a live case.”
The development comes as the SNP continues to be rocked by the scandal surrounding the party’s finances.
Earlier this month, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell — the former party leader Nicola Sturgeon’s husband — was also arrested in connection with the investigation. He was later released without charge.
So who is Colin Beattie? Here’s all you need to know.
Who is Colin Beattie?
Mr Beattie has been the MSP for the Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency since 2011. Before this, he was councillor and group leader of the SNP on Midlothian Council.
Born in Forfar, eastern Scotland, he joined the SNP at the age of only 14. He left school a year later to work for his local bank, attending night classes to catch up on his missed education.
Scotland’s National newspaper says Mr Beattie was then accepted into the international service of a major bank. He spent 23 years in the Middle and Far East working in international banking. Mr Beattie then worked in finance for 11 years in London.
Mr Beattie won the new seat of Midlothian North and Musselburgh in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election. This was with a majority of just under 3,000 votes.
He retained his seat in the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, with a majority of more than 7,000 votes.
He was selected unopposed as the SNP’s candidate for the 2021 Scottish Parliament election and retained his seat, with an increased majority of 7,906.
Mr Beattie also served as the SNP’s treasurer between 2004 and 2020, before being defeated in an internal election by Douglas Chapman. However, he returned to the role when Mr Chapman resigned a year later.
Mr Chapman said at the time: “I had not received the support or financial information required to carry out the fiduciary duties of National Treasurer.”
Mr Beattie was formally censured in 2013 by the Standards Commission for Scotland for breaching the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. This was for failing to register interest in property while a councillor.
What is the investigation into the SNP’s finances about?
Police Scotland launched a formal investigation into the SNP’s finances in July 2021, after receiving complaints about how donations were used.
The long-running probe is linked to the spending of £600,000 raised by independence supporters to be used in a new campaign for Scotland to leave the UK. It is understood there have been complaints that the ringfenced cash has been used improperly by being spent elsewhere.
Questions were raised after the SNP’s accounts showed it had just under £97,000 in the bank at the end of 2019 and total net assets of about £272,000.
Last year, it emerged Mr Murrell loaned more than £100,000 to the SNP, to help it out with a “cash-flow” issue after the last election.
The SNP had repaid about half of the money by October of that year.
On Sunday (April 16), leaked video footage showed Ms Sturgeon playing down fears about the party’s finances.
The footage, published by the Sunday Mail, is said to be from a virtual meeting of the party’s ruling body in March 2021.
Ms Sturgeon announced her shock resignation in February after more than eight years as First Minister.
Mr Murrell, who married Ms Sturgeon in 2010, resigned as SNP chief executive last month. He was forced to step down after shouldering the blame for the party’s misleading responses to the media over membership numbers.
Speaking to Sky News last month, Ms Sturgeon said the police probe played no part in her decision to step down.
