SNP grandee fears for party as long as missing £600,000 claims remain unresolved! B
‘Serious questions have not been answered credibly,’ says Fergus Ewing who blames scandal on nationalists’ collapse
The SNP will remain “stuck in a rut” until it convincingly explains where a “missing” £600,000 has gone or why the party bought a luxury campervan, a party grandee has claimed.
Fergus Ewing, the former cabinet minister who is the son of leading nationalist Winnie Ewing, said his party had not answered “simple but serious questions” at the centre of a long-running police investigation.
The criminal investigation has seen Peter Murrell, Nicola Sturgeon’s husband who is the former SNP chief executive, charged with embezzlement and the former first minister, who denies any wrongdoing, arrested.
Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell have been questioned by police. Mr Murrell has been charged with embezzlement while Ms Sturgeon denies any wrongdoing
The scandal began after questions were raised over where around £600,000 in donations, supposedly earmarked for a future referendum campaign, had been spent.
It later emerged that the SNP had purchased a luxury campervan that was seized by detectives from the driveway of Mr Murrell’s mother.
In an article for the Scottish Mail on Sunday, Mr Ewing said the investigation had been a major factor behind the SNP’s catastrophic collapse at the general election, when its tally of MPs fell from 48 to nine.
“Major simple but serious questions have not been answered or answered credibly,” Mr Ewing said. “For example, what happened to the £600,000 referendum war chest?
“Where has it gone? Why did a political party need a campervan – never mind a top of the range one?
“Until these questions are answered, the party is stuck in a rut.
“Who, for example, in business will donate money to a party which is under investigation for alleged financial fraud?
“Virtually no one – as the past 18 months have already proven.”
Mr Ewing spoke out as the 10th anniversary of the independence referendum is marked on Wednesday.
He claimed his party had “wasted 10 years of huge electoral success” and that the public sector was now “more bloated than an overinflated Zeppelin”.
However, he said his party remained “in denial” about the reasons for the loss in support.
“A pathetic illustration of the Scottish Government’s warped focus came just last week,” he said.
“When the catastrophic news broke that the Grangemouth refinery, vital to our economy, is set to close, what did we announce?
“That kids would no longer need to wear school blazers. It’s hard to conceive just how far removed now the SNP priorities are from those of the Scottish public.”
He added: “It’s as though the Scottish Government is a patient in intensive care, but pretending he just has a nose bleed.
“No one in the SNP leadership will quite spit it out, but there is no chance of a second independence referendum following the landslide Labour victory.”
Ms Sturgeon has strenuously denied any wrongdoing but remains under police investigation.
Earlier this month, police sought fresh guidance from prosecutors over their next steps in their investigation, named Operation Branchform.
The SNP was approached for comment.
