SNP MONEY MAN NICKED

Party rocked again after long-serving treasurer is arrested in finances probe

-  CHRIS MCCALL

THE SNP was rocked yesterday after its long-serving treasurer was arrested in connection with a police investigation into the party's finances.

Colin Beattie, 71, was taken into custody and questioned by detectives for several hours as part of Operation Branchfoot.

He was later released without charge pending further inquiries.

It comes just two weeks after former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell was arrested before being released without charge.

Police previously raided the SNP's Edinburgh headquarters as well as searching the house shared by Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon.

Beattie is the MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh as well as serving as a member of the Scottish Parliament's Public Audit Committee.

Opposition parties last night called for him to stand down from the committee while he is under investigation.

Beattie was first appointed SNP national treasurer in 2004 before losing an internal election in 2020 to MP Douglas Chapman.

He returned to the role just a year later after Chapman quit amid claims he had "not received the support or financial information" needed to do the job.

Beattie worked in international finance before taking early retirement in the mid2000s to focus on his political career.

He was first elected to Holyrood in 2011 but is a little known figure outside his constituency and the SNP hierarchy.

Police launched Operation Branchfoot in July 2021 after receiving several complaints about how donations to the SNP were used.