Yes Scotland hands accounts over to police amid 'missing £1.5m' claims

Yes Scotland, the group which campaigned for independence in the 2014 referendum, has handed its full accounts over to the police as it seeks to address concerns over a “missing” £1.5 million which it says are unfounded.

It came as campaigners met detectives in Edinburgh as part of a complaint about the group’s finances.

Sean Clerkin and David Henry, who were among those whose concerns about the SNP’s finances led to the police investigation that exposed former chief executive Peter Murrell, said there were a number of “unanswered questions”.

Former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell leaving in a prison van from the High Court in Edinburgh | PA

Speaking to journalists outside Fettes police station, the pair said senior officers had told them it would take two to four weeks to assess the information before deciding whether to launch an official probe.

READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon refuses to publish statement she provided to police after arrest

Mr Clerkin and Mr Henry say more than £1.5 million is unaccounted for, but lawyers for former Yes Scotland chief executive Blair Jenkins strongly reject this.

Aamer Anwar, Mr Jenkins’ solicitor, said: “This story was based on a very basic misunderstanding of accounts and Yes Scotland’s financial statements.

“All of the income received by Yes Scotland is fully accounted for and it is grossly defamatory to say otherwise. There appears to have been a desperate attempt to link Peter Murrell’s criminal conduct in the SNP to the financial affairs of Yes Scotland.

“To make it perfectly clear, Mr Murrell never at any time had access to Yes Scotland’s accounts.”

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Over the weekend, there were claims the SNP “tightly controlled” the campaign group.

Mr Anwar said all Yes Scotland campaign spending was audited, with the group having voluntarily provided Police Scotland with full accounts for 2013, 2014 and 2015.

According to his statement, Yes Scotland received donations totalling £2,403,976 in 2013, with these identified in the accounts as “other income”.

The group had a year-end surplus of £878,978, after operating costs of £1,535,855.

David Henry, left, and Sean Clerkin speak to the media outside Fettes Police Station, Edinburgh, where they made a report to the police about the finances of Yes Scotland, the group which campaigned for a Yes vote in the 2014 independence referendum | Jane Barlow/PA Wire

These operating costs included the salaries of Yes Scotland staff, the cost of the group’s Glasgow headquarters, and campaign events and publications.

Mr Anwar said: “A balance sheet surplus of £878,978 and income of £2,403,976 doesn’t mean that over £1.5 million had gone missing or been stolen, rather that Yes Scotland’s operating costs were about £1.5 million in 2012-13.

“To be clear, there is no ‘missing’ £1.5 million, but what is missing is any explanation as to why it did not occur to those making the allegations that the £1.5 million represents spending by the campaign.”

Mr Henry said he and Mr Clerkin had provided police with “detailed evidence” including a list of email exchanges and Yes Scotland’s published accounts.

Mr Clerkin said a senior officer had told him “there are a lot of unanswered questions and that they are going to try to get to the bottom of it”.

He added: “They are going to take two to four weeks to assess the evidence.”

The latest row comes after Murrell, who is Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband, was jailed for more than five years last month for embezzling more than £400,000 from the SNP.