Humza Yousaf: SNP finance governance ‘not as good as it should be’

Financial governance of the SNP has not been “as good as it should be”, Humza Yousaf has said.

The first minister and SNP leader said there needed to be “more openness” and better transparency about governance in the party.

Speaking at Bute House the day after Peter Murrell, the former chief executive of the party, was questioned by police, Yousaf said the SNP can “absolutely” do better and roles like that of national treasurer could be “beefed up”.

Murrell, who is also former leader Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, was released without charge on Wednesday after being questioned in connection to an investigation into party finances.

He stepped down as CEO last month in a row over membership numbers, having been in the role since 1999.

Yousaf said: “There's an opportunity for us to have an open recruitment for a new chief executive. I'm quite excited about that prospect because [having] a new leader, a new chief executive, in place gives us the opportunity to hopefully bring new standards of governance, and so on and so forth, to the party.”

He added: “There has to be more openness, more transparency around how we do things – for our members, let alone for the confidence of the general public – so we absolutely can do better around governance and around transparency. There's no ifs or buts about that.”

“I think the governance around financial accountability was not as good as it should be. And that's, frankly, pretty obvious,” he later said.

Yousaf also said senior SNP staff should not have to step down from their roles because of the arrest of Murrell.

Asked about whether the party would cover Murrell’s legal fees, he said he would “have to look into the detail” because there “may be an obligation” to do so.

And pressed on whether he would be comfortable for that to happen, he said: “It’s a conversation that I have to reflect on.”

Yousaf said the review of the SNP’s governance will have “external input” and the party’s ruling National Executive Committee will agree the details of that review at its next meeting on 15 April.

He added: “Without prejudging the review… I think we can make sure the national treasurer has the ability to make sure they are adequately scrutinising the finances.”

Yousaf also dismissed as a “conspiracy theory” the idea the SNP was “in cahoots” with Police Scotland over the timing of the leadership contest and the arrest.

On the question of whether it should be against party rules for husband and wife to be both the chief executive and leader of the party, he said that was not within his gift but his “wife is not going to be applying for the role”.

Scottish Labour said Yousaf could not be trusted to tackle the “culture of cover-up” within the SNP.

Deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “After staying silent for months while people across the political spectrum raised the alarm over the culture in the SNP, Humza Yousaf has finally come clean and admitted that there are significant issues to deal with.

“It’s plain for all to see that Humza Yousaf was happy to turn a blind eye to the debacles in the SNP for as long as he could.”