THE First Minister Humza Yousaf will temporarily take over the role of overseeing the SNP's finances following the resignation of treasurer Colin Beattie.
Beattie resigned from his role as National Treasure on Wednesday afternoon after he was arrested by police and released without charge the previous evening.
Police say he was released "pending further investigation" as part of their probe into the SNP's finances, which saw former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell released under the same circumstances following his arrest earlier this month.
In a statement released through the party, Beattie said he would step back from the role, as well as giving up his position on Holyrood’s Public Audit Committee.
Yousaf is now required to take on the role but told the BBC he hoped someone would be appointed to the job in the coming days.
I want to offer my thanks to Colin. I know that his decision to step back from the role of SNP National Treasurer will not have been an easy one, but he has done so in the best interest of the Party. A new Treasurer will be appointed as soon as possible. https://t.co/lhdsbpi0o3
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) April 19, 2023
He said: “We’ll appoint a treasurer in the coming days, but of course, as party leader, I’ll make sure I’m overseeing the finances of the party. But we’ll appoint a new national treasurer as soon as we can."
The post is usually one elected by members. However, Yousaf said the party was “not going to have time” to elect someone to the role and ruled out continuing in the job alongside being party leader and First Minister.
Asked if Beattie was pushed to resign, Yousaf said: “Colin and I had a conversation, as you’d expect us to do today, and he understood that the best thing for the party was for him to step back as being national treasurer.”
He also thanked Beattie for “stepping back” from the role.
Beattie also sits on the Scottish Commission for Public Audit – a body that scrutinises watchdog Audit Scotland and, among other responsibilities, is tasked with “appointing a qualified person to audit the accounts of Audit Scotland”.
A decision on his membership of the body will be made closer to its next meeting, it was understood.
