THE finances of Scotland’s leading anti-independence group have slumped, it has emerged.

Scotland in Union’s funds almost halved last year, according to its latest accounts.

Capital and reserves fell from £313,283 to £169,989 in the 12 months to 30 November 2017, a drop of 46 per cent.

A few weeks after the financial year ended, Scotland in Union (SIU) appealed for fresh donations after admitting 98 per cent of its supporters didn’t give it any money.

In a fundraising email that stated “we really need your help”, SIU revealed only “around in 50” of the 25,000 supporters it claims made a financial contribution to it.

At the time, SIU founder and executive Alastair Cameron repeatedly refused to answer questions about whether the organisation was financially viable.

The new SIU accounts, signed off by its board on 10 August, were the first it has lodged at Companies House without an accompanying report from an accountant.

The fall in cash pre-dates a controversy over the leaking of the group’s secret donor list.

A spreadsheet containing hundreds of donor names, addresses and sums was leaked to Nationalist websites at the turn of the year, prompting SIU to contact the police.

SIU then suffered a second leak of the same data when the Electoral Commission released the donor list under freedom of information, but failed to redact it properly.

Scotland in Union was set up in the wake of the 2014 independence referendum to oppose a second vote on the constitution.

It quickly acquired a reputation for over-relying on the landed aristocracy for its income.

In 2016, it raised £350,000 from a lavish dinner and auction, with lots including stays in luxury African safari lodges and Alpine ski chalets.

A few months later, it hired former Labour MSP Graeme Pearson as its first chief executive, who admitted at the time he had “never heard” of it.

He stood down in August last year and was replaced by former Labour MP Pamela Nash.

In December, SIU then suffered a split, with a breakaway group of former staff setting up UK Unity, a rival Unionist group with an outspoken pro-Brexit stance.

The SNP’s donation income in 2017 was £1.4m, up £1m in a year, but it still ended up £529,000 in the red.

SNP MSP George Adam said: “In a strange way, Scotland in Union have become the perfect embodiment of the UK itself – declining support, increasingly erratic leadership and seemingly a pretty grim financial outlook.

As more and more people realise the benefits of taking decisions for ourselves with independence, Scotland in Union will continue its downwards slide into irrelevance."

SIU chief executive Pamela Nash said: “The number of Scotland in Union supporters is at a record high and continues to grow. We greatly appreciate all of the donations, large and small, we receive from ordinary Scots who do not want to see another divisive referendum and, as as a result, support for Scottish independence remains at a low.

“Even though Nicola Sturgeon is now backing away from indyref2, we cannot afford to be complacent and we are delighted so many people are still backing our campaign, allowing us to take our message about why we are better off in the UK to every part of Scotland.”