Leaked video shows Sturgeon dismiss finance concern

A leaked video has emerged apparently showing former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon playing down worries about the party's finances.

The footage, published by the Sunday Mail, is said to be from a virtual meeting of the party's ruling body, recorded in March 2021.

Ms Sturgeon told National Executive Committee (NEC) members the party's finances had never been stronger.

She also warned of the impact on donors of going public with concerns.

In the two-minute clip Ms Sturgeon said she had been on the NEC continuously for 20 years, including times when the party had been "frankly teetering on the edge of bankruptcy".

She added: "The party has never been in a stronger financial position than it is right now and that's a reflection of our strength and our membership. So, just a bit of context for us all to remember."

Ms Sturgeon, who appears to have been recorded without her knowledge, also issued a direct appeal to those attending the virtual meeting.

She added: "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 not suggesting that there is."

The ex-SNP leader also urged members not to leak any details from the meeting because that would limit "the ability for open, free and frank discussion".

The SNP NEC meeting held on 20 March 2021 took place against a backdrop of growing internal dissent about transparency.

According to the Sunday Mail, three senior officials - Edinburgh Lord Provost Frank Ross, Allison Graham and Cynthia Guthrie - had just revealed to the NEC their intention to resign from the party's finance and audit committee after being denied sight of the accounts.

In May that year, two NEC members - SNP national treasurer Douglas Chapman and MP Joanna Cherry - resigned from the ruling body, citing concerns about transparency.

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said the timing of Ms Sturgeon's claims - months before police launched an investigation into SNP finances - was "frankly astonishing".

He said: "The shocking lack of transparency among the toxic clique at the top of the SNP is what has got the party in its current mess.

"If Humza Yousaf wants to show he's determined to tackle the crisis within the SNP, he should suspend the party membership of Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell."

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the "terminal SNP soap opera" meant that peoples' priorities such as health and education were "playing second fiddle".

He added: "The antics inside the SNP high command put some of the worst excesses of Tory sleaze in the shade."

The March 2021 NEC meeting took place just a few days before the first complaint was made to police about the SNP's finances.

A pro-independence activist is said to have raised concern that nearly £667,000 of funds raised for a future independence campaign may have been used for other purposes.

In June of that year, the party's former chief executive Peter Murrell - who is married to Ms Sturgeon - loaned the party £107,620 to help it out with "cash flow" problems.

The following month Police Scotland began a formal investigation into the party's finances, named Operation Branchform.

The police inquiry resulted in the arrest of Mr Murrell earlier this month as well as a search of the SNP's Edinburgh offices and the confiscation of a £100,000 motorhome, reported to have been purchased as a campaign bus ahead of the May 2021 election.

Mr Murrell was later released without charge pending further investigation.

The BBC has been unable to contact Ms Sturgeon directly for comment.

A spokesperson for the SNP said: "Yesterday, the SNP National Executive Committee agreed to a series of proposals to increase transparency in the SNP. It is the case that the SNP accounts are published annually and are in order."