Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry may call Nicola Sturgeon as witness
The Scottish Affairs Committee announced earlier this month that it was holding a probe into party political funding.
A Westminster inquiry into party political funding may call Nicola Sturgeon as a witness.
Members of the Scottish Affairs Committee have said they want to question the former first minister as part of their probe into political party funding.
The committee announced earlier this month that it would be launching an inquiry following Peter Murrell’s embezzlement of SNP funds.
The Scotland on Sunday can now reveal that Labour’s Douglas McAllister and the Lib Dems’ Susan Murray would like former first minister Ms Sturgeon - who was also married to Mr Murrell - to give evidence.
Mr McAllister, who is MP for West Dunbartonshire, said: “I would hope the committee would be given the opportunity to hear evidence from former FM Nicola Sturgeon with respect to various aspects of how political parties are funded and the governance structures in place to prevent misuse of them.”
Ms Murray, the Mid Dunbartonshire MP, said: “I’d like to see Nicola Sturgeon, Police Scotland and especially the party treasurers whose actions suggested the problem as early as 2021 and I’ll be interested to hear who else my colleagues on the committee suggest.
“Having held the position of Treasurer in a few charities before politics, I know that, in my experience, very little happens in an organisation without leaving a financial trail and officers should have been more curious if this information wasn't shared.”
The Scottish Affairs Committee’s inquiry is into the Electoral Commission’s “oversight” of Scottish political party funding.
The committee is supposed to only look into reserved issues, so it is investigating the public money given to all political parties.
But the clear interest is former SNP chief executive Mr Murrell pleading guilty to embezzling £400,000 from the Nationalists earlier this year.
The probe can include the SNP’s finances because the party received £2.2million in policy development grants from the Electoral between 2010 and 2022.
The SNP also received £8.2 million in short money - funds given to parties for the number of MPs and votes they have won - during the same period.
Ms Sturgeon could potentially ignore the whole process even if she asked to appear.
Witnesses are usually informally invited to House of Commons select committees.
If they are unwilling to do so, then the committee can compel them to appear.
If the witness continues to be unwilling, they can be reported to the House of Commons for committing “a contempt”.
People have been fined or imprisoned for contempt in the past, although not since the 19th century.
It is unlikely that this would happen nowadays for legal reasons.
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Ms Sturgeon is not the only Nationalist figure who the they would like to quiz.
Former SNP MP Douglas Chapman, who resigned as party treasurer in 2021 because he had not been given enough information to do the job, is also of interest to the committee.
Three members of the SNP’s finance and audit committee, who quit around the same time, may also be called.
Sitting MSP Colin Beattie, who was SNP treasurer for a decade and a half, could also be requested to give evidence.
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