The Justice Secretary in Scotland remains tight-lipped about whether the Government knows the identities of officers in the SNP finance investigation
Edinburgh: So, there’s some drama brewing in Scotland. The Justice Secretary, Angela Constance, is keeping mum about whether the Government knows who the police officers are in the SNP finance investigation.
Police Scotland kicked off Operation Branchform to look into how the party has been using its funds. They’ve even charged Peter Murrell, who used to be the chief executive and is married to Nicola Sturgeon, with alleged embezzlement.
Last year, both Sturgeon and the former party treasurer, Colin Beattie, were arrested but later released without any charges. Sturgeon mentioned back in December that she didn’t know anything more about the investigation.
During a session in Holyrood, Conservative MSP Craig Hoy pressed Constance about whether the Government is aware of the identities of the 11 officers involved. He even tried to get information through a freedom of information request, but it was shot down, claiming it could harm the investigation.
Hoy pointed out that this refusal suggests the Government might actually know something. He asked why revealing when the officers’ identities became known could jeopardize the police work, and if there’s nothing to hide, why not just confirm how they got that info?
But Constance, respecting the ongoing case, said she couldn’t comment further. It’s a bit of a sticky situation, and it looks like we’ll have to wait and see how it unfolds.
