Jackie Baillie, John Swinney, Ross Greer and Peter Murrell – at odds over inquiry.
by Bill Heaney
SNP and Scottish Green MSPs have a “final chance to do the right thing” ahead of a vote calling for a Scottish Parliamentary Inquiry into the SNP embezzlement scandal.
MSPs will today, Wednesday, debate a Scottish Labour motion calling for the Parliament 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.
However, despite public anger over the scandal and calls for transparency, SNP and Green MSPs have so far rejected calls for an inquiry to take place.
It comes just days after John Swinney admitted the SNP has spoken with HMRC over potential illegal VAT claims.
Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer also this week deleted a gushing tweet praising Murrell for having secured him a 25% pay rise.
Scottish Labour Deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said: “It is without doubt that there are still significant and serious questions to be answered about Peter Murrell’s criminal activity and the SNP culture that enabled it to happen.
“For years, those at the top of the SNP have sought to shut down and silence whistleblowers and cover up any wrongdoing. That has utterly eroded the public’s trust in Scottish politics and the governing party.
“It is right that lessons are learned from Operation Branchform and this terrible scandal so that we can give the public the reassurances they need, particularly when it comes to how their money is handled.
“We know that John Swinney and others within the SNP, along with Ross Greer, have had close friendships with Murrell, openly praising him for his stewardship of the SNP as chief executive.
“However, they must set aside their personal connections with Murrell and realise that it is only right that we now have an inquiry into this scandal to allow Scotland to move forward.
“They have so far dug their heels in on the issue of an inquiry, but they still have a final chance to do the right thing – Back the motion and allow the Scottish Parliament to hold an inquiry.”
Strictly this so far is an internal SNP matter.
What however is not an internal SNP matter is the lack of pursuance by the police and crown office Procurator Fiscal Service into criminality.
Sadly the police and COPFS are corrupt. They are not impartial in who they investigate and prosecute. The justice system is a disgrace and folks can have no trust in the justice system.
Think back to Covid and who could break the restrictions with police impunity and who, in the common populace felt the full might of the law.
Or the Salmond prosecution together with the prosecution of supporters like Craig Murray or Mark Hirst. Like him or them, or loath them the vigour with which they were pursued was truly remarkable.
But it goes on. The police and COPFS are a biased political tool and its more, much more than that.
People voted SNP because they either wanted independence or because they saw them as the best of a bad bunch. And now it seems clear that those at the top, ergo the Sturrel gang were less than lilywhite.
But the Labour Party who are in the doldrums, our own MSP being the exception, are not exactly lilywhite. Ditto the Tories.
Lady Mone, Conservative peer is a good example of someone who faced no criminal charges. And she was in relative terms small beer. Or Mandelson. Will he ever end up in court. The list goes on.
Hight time therefore that we looked at the lack of impartiality into our justice system. Policing is political. Prosecution is political.