John Swinney declines to apologise for SNP spending 'ring-fenced' indyref fund

It came as the First Minister admitted some members and others who donated have asked for their money back.

Questions have been raised about the fund after Peter Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive and Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband, pled guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the party over a 12-year period.

The police investigation that uncovered his crimes began in 2021 when complaints were made about the handling of two referendum campaign fundraisers in 2017 and 2019, which raised a combined £667,000.

The SNP insisted in 2017 that this money would “only be used for the specific purpose of a referendum campaign”.

However, Mr Swinney confirmed this week that it had been used as “part of the ongoing activities” of the party.

READ MORE: Peter Murrell's potential assets revealed in court papers after £400,000 SNP embezzlement

Asked by The Scotsman if he would apologise to those who believed they were donating to a ring-fenced fund, and not contributing to general party expenditure, he said: “I think people know that when they give money to the Scottish National Party, they’re giving money to the cause of Scottish independence, and I think that’s a pretty well-established point in people’s psyche about how they donate to the SNP.”

He added: “The Scottish National Party is a party that is committed to winning Scottish independence, so I think when people give money to the Scottish National Party they would expect it to be used to win Scottish independence.

“Which is why the party feels such hurt at the way in which we have been betrayed by one of our key officials, who used money not for the purpose of winning Scottish independence but for making a lot of purchases that were not appropriate.

“Our money is used to support the political agenda of the Scottish National Party, which is to win independence.”

Earlier, Mr Swinney was asked if any party members or donors to the fund had asked for their money back.

“Some have, and those requests have been fulfilled,” he told journalists.

Asked how many, he said: “I can’t give you that number. But anyone who has requested it has had their donations fulfilled.”

Scottish Labour previously accused the SNP of defrauding its members.

Jackie Baillie, the party’s deputy leader, said: “SNP members and supporters donated their hard-earned money believing it would be used for a future referendum campaign.

“John Swinney has now admitted that it became part of the SNP’s general resources.

“People will rightly ask whether they were misled. They will rightly ask why the SNP continues to resist scrutiny. And they will rightly ask why John Swinney is so desperate to avoid a full inquiry.”

A fresh complaint was made to Police Scotland about the SNP’s handling of the fund by the activist Sean Clerkin, but the force said it would not reinvestigate the matter.

A spokesperson said: “The individual has been informed that the information provided had already been investigated as part of our enquiries and no further action will be taken at this time, however should any new information be received this will be assessed.”