SNP finances probe: Humza Yousaf refuses to be drawn on claims luxury campervan purchase kept secret

The First Minister said there is a live police investigation

Humza Yousaf has refused to be drawn on reports that senior SNP officials were kept in the dark over the party’s purchase of a £100,000 campervan.

The First Minister would only say there is a “live police investigation” when asked about the issue by The Scotsman in Holyrood.

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Police previously seized a Niesmann + Bischoff motorhome as part of their ongoing investigation into the SNP’s funding and finances. They removed it from outside the home of the elderly mother of Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive and Nicola Sturgeon’s husband.

First Minister Humza YousafFirst Minister Humza Yousaf
First Minister Humza Yousaf

Last month, Mr Murrell was arrested by police and questioned for around 11 hours before being released without charge. Colin Beattie, the SNP’s former treasurer, was also later arrested and released without charge.

Mr Beattie was the SNP’s national treasurer between 2004 and 2020, losing the position to MP Douglas Chapman. However, Mr Chapman quit the post in 2021, claiming he was not being given the required information to carry out the job, and Mr Beattie took on the role again.

Mr Beattie previously said he was not aware of the campervan purchase at the time, but later clarified he “became aware of the transaction via the 2021 annual accounts”.

A source close to Mr Chapman has now told The Times he “did not know about [the campervan] when he was treasurer”.

It is not clear when the motorhome was purchased, but it was reportedly bought to be used as a “battle bus” ahead of the 2021 Holyrood election. It was never utilised because Covid rules were loosened.

Mr Yousaf was asked how both of the SNP’s former treasurers could have been kept in the dark over the purchase. He replied: “That’s a matter of a live police investigation.”