SNP opposition to Westminster Murrell inquiry dismissed as 'hysterical nonsense'

It comes after Dave Doogan, the party’s leader in the House of Commons, insisted such a move would be a “party political stunt”.

Almost all members of the Scottish Affairs Committee back holding a probe into the circumstances surrounding Mr Murrell’s crimes.

Last month, Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband pled guilty to embezzling more than £400,000 from the party over a 12-year period.

READ MORE: Why Scotland's Crown Office has questions to answer over Peter Murrell scandal – Brian Wilson

But Mr Doogan, the committee’s only SNP member, is strongly opposed.

"If this inquiry goes ahead as suggested, it would be an unprecedented abuse of the House of Commons committee system - and a complete waste of taxpayers' money,” he said.

"The SNP will call this party political stunt out for exactly what it is - a desperate attempt by Labour Party and Tory MPs to weaponise a taxpayer-funded Westminster committee to take pot shots at their political opponents.

"If a blatantly partisan inquiry were to take place, it would also create a dangerous precedent for investigating rival political parties that a Nigel Farage government will ruthlessly exploit. Wiser heads in the House of Commons must surely see this for what it is.

"The police have already spent five years and more than two million pounds investigating Peter Murrell's embezzlement crimes against the SNP.

“When John Swinney became SNP leader, he fundamentally reformed the way the party works, and ensured a full governance review and stringent financial accountability measures within the party.

"The election in May shows that the public want their politicians to focus on the issues that really matter to voters like the cost of living and the NHS - not party political stunts.”

Andrew Bowie, the Conservative shadow Scottish secretary, accused Mr Doogan of “desperate, hysterical nonsense”.

“It’s he and the SNP who are acting out of self-interest in seeking to block a much-needed inquiry into the systemic failings that allowed Peter Murrell to get away with stealing huge sums of money for years on end,” he said.

“Doogan’s wild hyperbole only fuels suspicions that John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon enabled Murrell by refusing to address the concerns raised by others in the SNP over the party’s finances.

“There are so many unanswered questions about this scandal – including whether taxpayers’ money was stolen – and, with sleekit Swinney refusing to grant a Holyrood inquiry, it’s incumbent on MPs to get to the bottom of it.”

Scottish Labour will force a vote on establishing a Holyrood inquiry on Wednesday, but this will be voted down by SNP and Green MSPs.

First Minister John Swinney has repeatedly rejected calls for an inquiry, while Ross Greer, the co-leader of the Greens, also opposes the idea.

“Other parties want to waste parliament’s time and waste the public’s money on this frankly false, fake investigation,” Mr Greer told LBC. “The Greens won’t have anything to do with it. Our priorities are not that.”

This has led to growing calls for Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee to launch a probe instead.

Insiders said it could justify this by pointing to the involvement of public money.

The SNP received millions of pounds in “short money” from the UK parliament over the period in which Murrell was embezzling its funds.

Committee members are also likely to point to Mr Swinney’s recent admission that the SNP may have claimed back VAT on illicit purchases made by Murrell.

“It would be incredibly undemocratic for one person to be able to block it,” one insider said of Mr Doogan’s opposition.

Another said any decision may be pushed back until after the Holyrood debate on Wednesday.

Following this, the committee could formally request a joint inquiry with the Scottish Parliament.

If this is refused, as is likely, a Westminster inquiry could then be announced.

The Scottish Affairs Committee will meet in private at 2pm today ahead of its oral evidence session on defence.

Members will use this as an opportunity to speak about whether an inquiry should be launched.

Chair Patricia Ferguson has already confirmed that it will “consider” holding a probe.

READ MORE: Blind loyalists rush to refill SNP's coffers even while the Murrell fire rages - Jenny Lindsay

Speaking ahead of Scottish Labour’s Holyrood vote, the party’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “Questions are piling up about the circumstances surrounding Peter Murrell’s crime spree and with public money potentially misused, John Swinney’s ‘nothing to see here’ act is becoming increasingly untenable.

“This is a matter of trust and integrity in politics and public life.

“If John Swinney has nothing to hide, he should welcome the chance to get answers on this sordid affair – but for some reason he is determined to try and dodge scrutiny.

“The SNP should have led the way setting up this inquiry, but instead it falls to Parliament to demand the truth.

“Scotland deserves answers and I hope on Wednesday MSPs across the chamber will back transparency over cover-up by voting for Scottish Labour’s motion.”

The motion will call on Holyrood to “conduct an inquiry into the implications and lessons to be learned following the conclusion of Operation Branchform and the embezzlement conviction of Peter Murrell”.

Last week, Mr Swinney said the SNP had “significantly improved our financial procedures and controls over the past few years”.

Speaking in Holyrood, he added: “I have taken strong action to ensure that we have effective financial management in the Scottish National Party and we have put in place measures to ensure that we have the highest standards.

“We have had a police investigation. There can be no higher and more forensic investigation than a police investigation.

“Therefore, I do not support the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry, because we have had an investigation and it convicted somebody for embezzling from my party’s funds.”