- By Andrew Kerr and Mary McCool
- BBC Scotland News
April 7, 2023 at 12:07 p.m. CET
Updated 6 minutes ago
Image source, Getty Images
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Police raided the SNP’s Edinburgh headquarters this week
The firm that audits the SNP’s finances has resigned, the BBC has learned.
Accountant Johnston Carmichael, who has worked with the party for more than a decade, said the decision came after a review of his clients.
Police investigating the SNP’s finances this week searched the home of former SNP chief Peter Murrell – husband of Nicola Sturgeon. He was arrested and released without charge.
The BBC understands that Johnston Carmichael resigned before Mr Murrell was arrested.
A spokesman for the SNP said it was in the process of finding a replacement company.
Police Scotland have been investigating the finances of the SNP since July 2021.
On Wednesday, Mr Murrell was arrested while dozens of officers conducted a high-profile search at his home in Glasgow and at SNP’s Edinburgh headquarters.
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Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell have held high-profile roles at the SNP for years
Ms Sturgeon, Scotland’s former First Minister, was at the house when police arrived but said she had “no prior knowledge” of Police Scotland’s plans.
Mr Murrell was questioned during the search and released without charge on Wednesday evening.
First Minister Humza Yousaf, who succeeded Ms Sturgeon last week, said his party has “fully cooperated” with the police and will continue to do so.
He said he was “very, very clear that the leadership of the party is not what it should be”.
Why are the police investigating the SNP?
In July 2021, Police Scotland opened a formal investigation after receiving complaints about the use of SNP donations.
Questions have been raised about funds being made available to the party for a new independence referendum campaign.
Ms Sturgeon insisted at the time that she was “not concerned”. She said “every penny” raised in online crowdfunding campaigns would be spent on the independence campaign.
The SNP raised a total of £666,953 from referendum-related appeals between 2017 and 2020. The party promised to spend these funds on the independence campaign.
Questions were raised after his accounts showed he had just under £97,000 in the bank and a total net worth of around £272,000 at the end of 2019.
Mr Murrell, who has been married to Ms Sturgeon since 2010, resigned last month after taking responsibility for misleading statements about a decline in party membership.
Last year it was revealed he gave the SNP a loan of more than £100,000 to help them with a “cash flow” problem after the last election.
By October of that year, the party had repaid about half of the money.
At the time, an SNP spokesman said the loan was a “personal contribution from the chief executive to support post-election cash flow in Holyrood”.
He said it was reported in the party’s 2021 accounts.
Weeks earlier, MP Douglas Chapman had resigned as the party’s treasurer, saying he had not received the “financial information” to do the job.
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A van backed into the tent in front of Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon’s home
The SNP is required to prepare financial statements in accordance with the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. She has until July 7 to submit her annual accounts to the election commission.
In the absence of a report and a reasonable excuse, the Commission has the power to appoint its own auditing firm.
SNP’s 2021 annual financial statements were published on August 16, 2022.
The party’s total revenue was £4,510,460, total expenditure £5,262,032, assets £1,630,454 and liabilities £1,055,689.
The Electoral Commission’s rules state that any party with income or expenditure in excess of £250,000 is required by law to also independently audit its accounts and include this report with its submission.
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Officers remained stationed outside the home of Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon on Wednesday night
Scottish Labor Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said the resignation of Johnstone Carmichael was a deeply worrying development which raised “serious questions” about the financial affairs of the SNP.
She said: “Humza Yousaf tried yesterday to distance himself from the legacy of Peter Murrell – today we need to know what the current First Minister is up to to put the SNP house in order.
“Sunlight is the best disinfectant – we now need transparency and openness from SNP.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative Constitutional Speaker Donald Cameron said the SNP should be “completely transparent” about why its auditors decided to quit.
He said: “The public is fed up with the SNP hiding matters related to its finances behind a wall of secrecy, and senior figures – including Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon – need to be open about this situation.”