Andrew Bowie MP has called for First Minister John Swinney to stop making excuses and instead support a full inquiry into the Peter Murrell scandal following the former SNP chief executive's conviction for embezzling more than £400,000 from his own party.
In his letter to the First Minister Andrew said the Scottish public deserved answers about how such significant financial wrongdoing continued for years without being detected, particularly given Mr Swinney's senior leadership role within the SNP throughout much of the period in question.
The comments come after Mr Swinney dismissed calls for a wider investigation, insisting that Peter Murrell had simply managed to bypass the party's financial controls. Critics argue that explanation fails to address the fundamental questions surrounding the SNP's governance and oversight.
Andrew Bowie said that accountability cannot end with the conviction of one individual.
He argued that the public are entitled to know whether warning signs were missed, whether concerns were ignored and why financial safeguards were apparently absent for so many years. With the SNP having governed Scotland for almost two decades, he said confidence in Scotland's institutions depends upon transparency rather than attempts to draw a line under the affair.
Andrew also criticised Mr Swinney's refusal to back an independent inquiry, saying that the First Minister's reluctance only fuels further questions about what senior figures in the SNP knew and when they knew it.
The sentencing judge's remarks have intensified scrutiny over the affair, with opposition politicians arguing that the scale and duration of the embezzlement raise serious concerns about the party's internal management and financial oversight.
Andrew said Scotland deserves a government that is open, accountable and prepared to answer difficult questions.
He called on John Swinney to end what he described as a pattern of deflection and support a comprehensive, independent inquiry into the failures that allowed the embezzlement to take place.
"Scotland's taxpayers and SNP members alike deserve the truth," he said. "Only a full and independent investigation can provide the answers that the public rightly expects and help restore confidence in public life."
You can read Andrew's letter below.
