A SCOTTISH Tory MP has raised the police probe into the SNP at Westminster, asking the Prime Minister to step in and change the role of Scotland’s top legal official.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Dumfries and Galloway MP John Cooper raised Operation Branchform and the role of the Lord Advocate – who attends Cabinet as Scottish ministers’ top legal adviser and also heads up prosecutions at the Crown Office.
Cooper said: “When he was director of public prosecutions, [Keir Starmer] would not, I think, have sat comfortably in the Cabinet of prime minister [David] Cameron.
“But incredibly in Scotland, we have a situation where the head of prosecutions there, the Lord Advocate, does sit in Cabinet.
“This has been thrown into sharp focus lately with a police probe into the finances of the SNP.
“Further being thrown into sharp focus, because ultimately, although not personally involved, the Lord Advocate does ultimately sit at the head of the investigation into the former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon. She faced potential criminal charges.
“This situation has been created by the SNP, they will not fix it. Does it sit with this House to amend this situation?”
Responding, Starmer said: “This is a really important issue and Labour in Scotland have been clear that they'd separate this role. That's the right thing to do for the reasons that have just been articulated.
“It's the obvious thing to do, and that's obviously what we do in England and Wales.
“Now, they've been called to review this since 2021, but the SNP has not acted fast on those reviews.
“They really do need to bring forward proposals now to deal with the problem [which] has been sitting there for a very, very long time.”
Former first minister Sturgeon was cleared after the years-long Police Scotland probe into the SNP last week. Former SNP treasurer Colin Beattie was also cleared.
Sturgeon’s estranged husband, former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, has appeared in court on a charge of embezzlement and is due to appear again at a later date.
The Crown Office has insisted throughout that its decisions have been made free from any political interference.
