An emotional Nicola Sturgeon has described the police investigation into SNP finances as “traumatic” and said she could not have anticipated the drama of her husband’s arrest in her “worst nightmares”.
The former first minister spoke to reporters at the Scottish Parliament for the first time since former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was questioned on 5 April.
“I understand the view that some people might have, that I knew this was all about to unfold and that’s why I walked away,” she said.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. I could not have anticipated in my worst nightmares what would have unfolded over the past few weeks.”
She added: “Clearly the events of the last few weeks have been difficult and – I use this word advisedly and deliberately – in some respects very traumatic. But I accept that is the nature of the process that is under way right now.”
It came as the party’s former treasurer Colin Beattie – also arrested and released in the same police probe – said he had not known the party had bought a £100,000 motorhome, raising fresh questions about the purchase.
As part of their investigation, Police Scotland are thought to have seized a Niesmann + Bischoff campervan bought by the party but apparently never used.
Mr Beattie – who resigned as treasurer after being released without charge pending further investigation – was asked if he knew about the purchase. “No – I didn’t know about it.”
The Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour both described it as a “bombshell revelation” – asking how the treasurer could not have known about such a large purchase.
Chris Hoy, the Scottish Tory chair, said: “This causal admission from Colin Beattie beggars belief.
Attacking the “murkiness” around SNP finances, the senior Tory said: “How on earth could someone who was treasurer, when the accounts featuring this six-figure purchase were signed off, now claim he was never aware of it?”
Labour deputy Jackie Baillie said: “This is yet another bombshell revelation that lays bare the chaos at the heart of the SNP. That the treasurer of the party did not know that over £100,000 had been spent on a motorhome is mind-boggling.”
Mr Beattie also denied that the SNP is in financial difficulty, insisting: “The SNP is in the black.”
Later on Tuesday, the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn was asked about the motorhome as he spoke at an Institute for Government event in London. He said he became aware of the purchase “when it was printed on the front of a newspaper”.
Humza Yousaf has said he didn’t know the SNP had bought the vehicle until after he became the party leader/
Ms Sturgeon said it was “frustrating” not being able to give her side of the SNP finance story, and said she had not been questioned by police and never had a “burner phone”, following reports that police detectives were searching for sim cards used in disposable mobiles.
Mr Beattie said the SNP’s difficulty in finding auditors to look over its accounts ahead of a May deadline is due to the “market situation”.
He made no comment when asked if he should be suspended from the SNP, but said he has “no plans at the moment” to resign from Holyrood’s economy and fair work committee, adding that he believes he is a “fit and proper person” to serve on it.
The MSP was also asked if his arrest was the worst thing which has ever happened to him. He replied: “No, I was in Beirut actually when I was under artillery fire – that was worse.”
The SNP’s Westminster group could miss out on £1.2m as part of funding given for oppositions parties if it fails to file audited accounts by the end of May.
