Westminster committee delays decision on launching Peter Murrell inquiry
The Scottish affairs committee agrees that Holyrood is the ‘most appropriate place for an inquiry’,
A key Westminster committee has decided to delay a decision on whether to launch a probe into the Peter Murrell scandal.
MPs on the Scottish affairs committee met in private on Tuesday afternoon to discuss whether or not to launch a Westminster inquiry into Murrell’s £400,000 embezzlement for the SNP.
This comes after First Minister John Swinney’s repeated refusal to open up such an inquiry in Holyrood. He argues that Operation Branchform, the five-year Police Scotland inquiry into SNP funds, is enough investigation.
At that meeting, the committee agreed that Holyrood was “the most appropriate place for an inquiry”, but wants to wait for the outcome of a Scottish Labour debate on the matter this afternoon before pressing ahead with a Westminster inquiry.
In the meantime Patricia Ferguson MP, chair of the Scottish affairs committee, has written the letters to the Electoral Commission, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and the clerk of the House “explore further the potential implication of public funds in the embezzlement of SNP funds”.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is due to lead a debate in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday afternoon to try and force a vote on holding a Holyrood inquiry.
Speaking to The Scotsman during a by-election visit to Broughty Ferry, Mr Sarwar said: “If they have nothing to hide then they have nothing to fear.
“But questions need to be asked as this was a police investigation into the governing party of this country, and if the same party clamps down on an inquiry, they are repeating the mistakes that allowed Murrell to commit these crimes in the first place.”
This move is unlikely to succeed, as both the SNP and the Scottish Greens are set to vote against Mr Sarwar.
The Scottish Greens instead want a parliamentary inquiry into all political parties’ funding.
In the House of Commons on Wednesday morning, the Speaker announced he has granted a waiver on MPs discussing the Murrell case.
Sir Lindsay said: “I inform the House that the Peter Murrell case is sub judice until sentencing. But, I have granted a limited waiver so members can discuss the issues of this case.
“Members shouldn’t speculate about sentencing.”
Murrell is due to be sentenced later this month.
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