Exclusive:Westminster should hold Peter Murrell SNP embezzlement inquiry if Holyrood doesn't, say MPs
Harriet Cross and Douglas McAllister said the Scottish Affairs Committee could hold a probe if the Scottish Parliament fails to do so
Westminster should have an inquiry into Peter Murrell's embezzlement of SNP funds if Holyrood doesn't, MPs have said.
Harriet Cross and Douglas McAllister said the Scottish Affairs Committee could hold a probe if the Scottish Parliament fails to do so.
The MPs are both members of the committee.
Ms Cross, Tory MP for Banff and Buchan, said: “I will be encouraging other parties on the Scottish Affairs Committee to back an inquiry in an effort to unearth the details and answers the public deserve.”
Mr McAllister, Labour MP for West Dunbartonshire MP, added: “My preference is for the Scottish Parliament to investigate, however if Holyrood fails to hold an inquiry then the Scottish Affairs Committee should do so.
“The SNP have received taxpayers cash through short money."
Short money is public funds given to political parties for how many votes or MPs they have.
Although the Scottish Affairs Committee is supposed to focus on Westminster, it could have the scope to hold an investigation because of the money which Nationalists received from its performance at general elections.
SNP First Minister John Swinney has so far rejected calls for an independent investigation into SNP finances in the wake of the Peter Murrell scandal.
Mr Swinney insisted no investigation would be “more detailed” than the one carried out by Police Scotland.
Speaking two days after former SNP chief executive Murrell – the estranged husband of Nicola Sturgeon – admitted embezzling more than £400,000 from the party over 12 years, the Scottish First Minister was clear that “there can be nothing more detailed than a police investigation”.
He told the Press Association: “The police investigation has led to a criminal case. There has been a prosecution and there has been a guilty plea and there will be sentencing taking place as a consequence.
“So, all these issues have been looked at.
“We know what the problem was – the problem was criminal behaviour and the police have identified that and the individual involved has been prosecuted.
“You cannot get any inquiry more detailed than a police inquiry, and I think we should all respect the fact there has been a detailed inquiry into all the issues.”
Former SNP cabinet minister Alex Neil has said that there “absolutely” should be an investigation, saying he wanted to see a senior lawyer appointed to probe the party’s governance arrangements and how it handles its finances.
Former SNP Westminster frontbencher Joanna Cherry KC has also demanded an “independent investigation into what occurred”, as she insisted there is a “wider public interest here that goes beyond the SNP”.
Labour has said it would like a Holyrood inquiry led by MSPs.
The calls came after Murrell, 61, appeared in court on Monday and admitted embezzling a total of £400,310.65 from the SNP between August 2010 and October 2022.