Scottish National Party Treasurer Arrested in Party Finance Probe

Undated handout photo of SNP treasurer Colin Beattie, issued by the Scottish Parliament on April 18, 2023. Andrew Cowan/Scottish Parliament via PA Media

Scottish National Party (SNP) treasurer Colin Beattie has been arrested in connection with a police investigation into the party’s finances.

Police Scotland said the 71-year-old was taken into custody on Tuesday and is being questioned by detectives “as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.”

Beattie became the SNP’s national treasurer in 2004, but lost the position to MP Douglas Chapman in 2020.

Beattie reclaimed the post in 2021 after the resignation of Chapman, who claimed he was not being given the required information to carry out the job.

This is the second arrest in the investigation into how more than £600,000 in donations to Scotland’s ruling party earmarked for an independence referendum had been used.

Nicola Sturgeon, then SNP leader and Scottish first minister, and husband Peter Murrell pose after casting their votes in the 2019 General Election at Broomhouse Park Community Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, on Dec. 12, 2019. Andrew Milligan/PA Media

Earlier this month, former SNP Chief Executive Peter Murrell—husband of Scotland’s former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon—was arrested and questioned for more than 11 hours before being released without charge “pending further investigation.”

A luxury motorhome was seized by police from outside a property in Dunfermline on the same morning that Murrell was arrested.

Ongoing Investigation

A Police Scotland statement said: “A 71-year-old man has today, Tuesday, 18 April 2023, been arrested as a suspect in connection with the ongoing investigation into the funding and finances of the Scottish National Party.

“The man is in custody and is being questioned by Police Scotland detectives.

“A report will be sent to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

“The matter is active for the purposes of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 and the public are therefore advised to exercise caution if discussing it on social media.

“As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment further.”

A spokesperson for the SNP said, “We have no comment on a live police investigation.”

Party Donations

The police investigation into the SNP’s finances began in July 2021, following complaints about how donations given to the party for use in a fresh independence referendum campaign had been used.

Two SNP MPs had quit the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) in May that year, citing a lack of transparency.

But the SNP leadership strongly denied claims the money raised for independence campaigning was diverted elsewhere.

Sturgeon, who was then first minister and SNP leader, insisted she was “not concerned” about the party’s finances and that “every penny” of cash raised in online crowdfunding campaigns would be spent on the independence drive.

The party said it raised a total of £666,953 through referendum-related appeals between 2017 and 2020.

But questions were raised after its accounts showed it had just under £97,000 in the bank at the end of 2019, and total net assets of about £272,000.

It emerged last year that Murrell had loaned the SNP £107,620 in June 2021. An SNP spokesman said at the time that the loan was a “personal contribution made by the chief executive to assist with cash flow after the Holyrood election.”

Speaking on April 8 about her husband’s arrest, Sturgeon said she couldn’t comment on an ongoing investigation, and would fully cooperate with it.

‘Not Close to Bankruptcy’

Earlier this month, accounting firm Johnston Carmichael confirmed reports that it had resigned as SNP’s auditor.

Humza Yousaf, who recently became SNP leader and Scottish first minister after Sturgeon’s resignation, told STV News on April 11 that the auditor had quit around October last year, and that he had only found out after winning the leadership contest last month.

Following an SNP NEC meeting on April 15, Yousaf told reporters that his party is “solvent” and “not close to bankruptcy.”

Yousaf said the meeting had been “positive” and there were no resignations, and that agreement was reached to hold a governance and transparency review.

Leaked Video

On April 16, the Sunday Mail published a video, which appears to show Sturgeon addressing a meeting of the NEC.

The then-first minister told the NEC the party had “never been in a stronger financial position than it is now.”

She warned committee members, “Just be very careful about suggestions that there are problems with the party’s finances because we depend on donors to donate—there are no reasons for people to be concerned about the party’s finances and all of us need to be careful about suggesting that there is.”

The video was reportedly from a meeting of the ruling body in March 2021, days before a complaint was made to police about the party’s finances.

After the video surfaced, the Scottish Conservatives led calls for the SNP to suspend Sturgeon from the party.

But Yousaf said on Monday that he is not “disturbed” by the video.

He said there was no case for Sturgeon to be suspended as an SNP member and he does not think she would resign as a member of the Scottish Parliament.

Lily Zhou and PA Media contributed to this report.