Humza Yousaf is facing fresh pressure as the Scottish Tories will today push for a statement on the turmoil engulfing the SNP. The party led by Douglas Ross will use its Holyrood debating time to push for clarity on the SNP’s financial situation.
The past month has seen the arrests of two senior SNP figures in connection with a police investigation into its finances, which has overshadowed Mr Yousaf’s first month in office.
It has also emerged that the party has been without auditors for its accounts since October.
The debate will see the Scottish Tories demand greater transparency from the SNP on both party and government affairs.
Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Ross said: “These questions are not going away for the First Minister and SNP leader, who recently had to step in as the SNP’s acting treasurer.
“He cannot stick his fingers in his ears and claim this is not a matter for his Government, as well as his party, especially if the SNP were to face bankruptcy or an imminent threat to their viability.
“This is clearly also a Government matter if the First Minister is compromised, his hands are tied, or if he has been kept in the dark about his party’s affairs, as was the case with the resignation of the SNP’s auditors.
“Right now, the real priorities of Scotland are being ignored by him and the SNP Government because they are distracted by the meltdown in the party.
“The unacceptable secrecy that has characterised the SNP in Government, on ferries, the Lochaber smelter, the Salmond affair and many others, is equally evident in its internal financial scandal, and it has to stop.
“The public must have confidence that Humza Yousaf is treating this investigation as seriously as possible and this debate gives him the opportunity to address these questions in full.”
A previous push for a statement to the Scottish Parliament was rejected by the First Minister, who said: “I don’t think Parliament is the place to do a statement on the party’s finances.”
As well as calling for the statement, Mr Ross’s party will urge the Scottish Government to end the pre-release of statistics, “deliver a more transparent budget process”, publish ministerial expenses and travel quicker and improve scrutiny of breaches of the ministerial code.
The Scottish Tories will also hit out at the party for a lack of transparency over its membership figures following a row over numbers during the leadership contest.
However the vote is likely to fail as the Scottish Greens are expected to support the Scottish Government.
SNP MSP Gordon MacDonald described the motion as a “shocking error in judgment”.
The Police Scotland investigation into the SNP’s finances centres on how more than £600,000 in donations to the party earmarked for an independence referendum has been used.
The SNP’s former chief executive Peter Murrell, who is married to Nicola Sturgeon, and then treasurer Colin Beattie have both been arrested in the last month before being released without charge pending further investigation.
