The Scottish Conservatives have called for an inquiry into the ongoing investigation of possible fundraising fraud by the Scottish National Party (SNP).
The Scottish Conservatives’ chief Whip Alexander Burnet wrote to the Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone, proposing a new committee to investigate Operation Branchform, the codename for the investigation into SNP finances.
Johnstone also serves as the convener of the parliamentary bureau, a Holyrood cross-party group responsible for proposing the establishment of committees and their respective remits and memberships.
Burnet’s letter referred to recent arrests of two senior SNP officials, “causing significant alarm to the public and the parliament.”
Former SNP Chief Executive Peter Murrell and former SNP Treasurer Colin Beattie were arrested in April 2023 in connection with Operation Branchform. Both were released without charge pending further investigation.
Precedent
In his letter, Burnet said that it was the Scottish Parliament’s responsibility to “uncover the truth” about the police investigation.“This investigation has been ongoing for nearly two years now and there are many elements of the investigation where both the public and the media have expressed interest and as a parliament we have a duty to uncover the truth about this investigation,” the MP said.
He then recalled the establishment of a committee to investigate the Scottish government’s handling of complaints against the former First Minister Alex Salmond.
The Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints on the actions of the first minister was set up in 2019, following complaints of sexual misconduct by Salmond in January 2018. The complaints were investigated and the government decided they were well-founded. Salmond resigned from the SNP and sought a judicial review of the process, accusing the Scottish government of abuse of process. In March 2020, the former first minister was acquitted of all charges.
The 2019 committee looked at what went wrong with the government’s investigation of the complaints against Salmond.
Burnet said that this set a precedent that a committee can be established before a criminal investigation concludes. He added the government decided to set up an inquiry of its own, despite an ongoing criminal investigation into Salmond, “because it was in the public interest.”
He clarified that the committee’s work can’t start until the conclusion of the proceedings in the criminal case.
“Therefore, a committee should be established looking into Operation Branchform, so that we can establish the facts and give the public the answer that they deserve,” wrote Burnet.
The call comes amid the news that it took two weeks for the Crown Office and Procurators Fiscal Service (COPFS) to grant a search warrant for Murrell’s home, which he shared with his wife, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
A Freedom of Information request by the Scottish Conservatives has revealed that the warrant request—sent on March 20, in the midst of the SNP leadership election—was not granted until after the contest concluded.
The newly elected First Minister Humza Yousaf has denied any government interference in the police investigation.
“I don’t believe there will be any particular reason out of the ordinary that it would take that time,” Yousaf said, referring to the two weeks it took the Crown Office to grant the search warrant.
Burnet suggested that the new committee to lead the inquiry into Operation Branchform should begin upon the completion of the investigation and any resulting criminal proceedings.
He called on the Parliamentary Bureau to discuss the matter at its next meeting.
