SNP turmoil: Humza Yousaf criticises how SNP was run under Nicola Sturgeon and pledges change

The new First Minister and SNP leader has criticised how the party was run under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon as he pledged to carry out a full review of the party’s governance and transparency.

Humza Yousaf said it was "very, very clear that the governance of the party was not as it should be" and insisted there was now an opportunity to "do things differently". Critics said his comments “simply will not wash” and accused him of previously turning a “blind eye” to problems in the SNP.

It comes after Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the SNP and Ms Sturgeon's husband, was arrested and released without charge on Wednesday as part of an ongoing police investigation into the party's funding and finances.

In unprecedented scenes, police swooped on the home Mr Murrell shares with Ms Sturgeon in Glasgow and also carried out a search of the SNP's headquarters in the centre of Edinburgh.

Newly-elected leader of the SNP and First Minister Humza Yousaf. Picture: Getty Images

The police presence in Glasgow started to be scaled back on Thursday, with officers dismantling one of the screens outside the couple’s Uddingston home and carrying what looked like toolboxes and rolls of cable from the property.

Speaking to journalists in Bute House, Mr Yousaf said one of his first actions after winning the SNP leadership race was to request a "full debrief" on the financial health of the party. He said there needed to be “more openness and more transparency” around how it operates.

“We absolutely can do better around governance and around transparency, there's no ifs or buts,” he said.

The new First Minister also hit out at the “debacle” over the SNP’s membership numbers. Mr Murrell resigned as the party’s chief executive last month amid a row over how the SNP had responded to media enquiries about its plummeting membership.

Mr Yousaf said: "I think whatever else transpires in this case, it's very, very clear that the governance of the party was not as it should be, it was not the best standard. And, frankly, the debacle over membership numbers is just one example of that.

"I'm not going to make this personal about Peter or Nicola. I've said during the course of this election contest that took place over the last six or seven weeks, I have respect for both Peter and for Nicola. But clearly, there's now an opportunity for the new chief executive, the appointment of which will be an open process, there's an opportunity to do things differently."

He said he was coming in as a new leader, adding: “There's a bit of a fresh broom there. I wanted to, in my very first national executive committee [the ruling body of the SNP] meeting, make sure the NEC agreed to a full review in terms of governance and transparency with external input. I think that last part is really important, because our members, the public and our press rightly have questions they want answered around these issues, and frankly a review of governance, a review of how we do things as transparently as possible, is clearly needed."

Mr Yousaf said the party was looking at a number of options in relation to the external input into his planned review. He also said roles such as the party's national treasurer could be "substantially beefed up" to give them the ability to adequately scrutinise finances.

He joked his wife, Nadia El-Nakla, an SNP councillor in Dundee, would not be applying for the role of chief executive of the party.

Former SNP minister Alex Neil has warned the party will need to change or it risks electoral disaster. Mr Yousaf said "in some respects" Mr Neil had a point around change.

He said: "And that is the point of a new leader coming in. We have a new leader in, we are going to have a new chief executive of the party as well. That gives us an opportunity to absolutely change how we do things in relation to governance, in relation to how transparent as a party we are with our membership and with the wider public."

The police investigation was sparked after complaints were made about the alleged misuse of more than £600,000 earmarked for an independence campaign.

Mr Yousaf said he had not spoken to Mr Murrell or Ms Sturgeon, and had not been contacted by police himself. He said he did not expect to be questioned as he had never had any dealings around the party's finances.

However, the First Minister said he would co-operate fully, adding: "The entire SNP has been co-operating with the investigation thus far. I made it very clear as leader that we should continue that full co-operation. When the police turned up at headquarters, of course, they were not impeded in any way, shape or form.”

Mr Yousaf said he had not talked to Mr Murrell about the party's finances. He said they last exchanged texts shortly after Mr Murrell resigned.

The First Minister also said he did not believe it was necessary for any other SNP staff member to stand aside while the police investigation continued. He said Police Scotland provided the SNP with a list of what they were looking for when they searched the party's headquarters in central Edinburgh.

Mr Yousaf said the SNP was in "good financial health", but he wanted it to be better.

Asked if the events had called into question the result of the SNP leadership race, he said: "To me that sounds like a conspiracy theory, that somehow we are in cahoots with Police Scotland. The timing of any investigation is absolutely for Police Scotland. It's not determined by anybody else."

Mr Yousaf added: “There’s no doubt the last few weeks and the events of yesterday have been difficult and bruising for the party. But there’s also an opportunity – with a new leader in place and a new chief executive in place, generally a next generation coming through.”

He said Ms Sturgeon, who is now a backbencher, would not be losing the SNP whip.

Conservative MSP Donald Cameron MSP said: “These belated calls for transparency and about how the SNP should be run simply will not wash. Humza Yousaf was one of Nicola Sturgeon’s key ministers for nearly a decade and failed to make any notable interventions on this topic.

“Suddenly he believes things should be done completely differently. The chaos engulfing the SNP is only distracting them from tackling the real issues facing Scotland.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “After staying silent for months while people across the political spectrum raised the alarm over the culture in the SNP, Humza Yousaf has finally come clean and admitted that there are significant issues to deal with.

“It’s plain for all to see that Humza Yousaf was happy to turn a blind eye to the debacles in the SNP for as long as he could."