John Swinney has insisted that potential donors to the SNP can trust the party under his leadership.

He denied that cash was tight, despite new Electoral Commission data showing no reportable cash donations in the first three months of 2024.

The party has struggled to attract money in recent years.

It is likely that is in part down to Operation Branchform, the police investigation into the SNP’s finances.

Most of the income received by the party this year has come from Short Money, public cash given to all opposition parties in the Commons with two or more MPs.

The party recorded three instalments of £105,837 from the beginning of the year to the end of March.

The party’s most recent accounts show a deficit of more than £800,000.

READ MORE: SNP received no major donations in first three months of 2024

Speaking to journalists at a campaign event in Springburn in Glasgow, Mr Swinney was asked how the SNP was funding its election push and whether the police probe was putting people off donating.

The First Minister said: "In relation to funding, as I’ve said before we receive donations from lots and lots of party members, we have more party members than all of the other parties in Scotland combined, and people generously make contributions to the party on an ongoing basis.

"And if you have lots of people donating small sums, that adds up to quite a big amount.

“So I'm really quite happy with the way donations are coming into the party.

“I always encourage people to continue to donate because we've got four quite expensive weeks ahead of us.”

"So just a wee handy reminder to the watching public: we're not in any way full up with donations.

"But that's the funding base that we get."

He added that anybody wanting to donate to the SNP should know that “any money coming in is going to be handled under the governance of John Swinney, and I think that should give people all the confidence they require."

Last month, Police Scotland submitted a report to the Crown Office following the arrest of Peter Murrell, the former SNP Chief Executive.

Mr Murrell - the husband of Ms Sturgeon - was initially arrested on 5 April 2023 before being released without charge, pending further inquiries were carried out.

In April this year he was rearrested and charged in connection with embezzlement of party funds.

Operation Branchform was triggered after complaints over how £660,000 of donations given to the SNP to fight an independence referendum were used.

When Mr Murrell was first arrested officers searched the home he shares with Ms Sturgeon in Glasgow, and the SNP's HQ in Edinburgh.

A £110,000 luxury motorhome was also seized by police from outside the home of Mr Murrell's mother in Dunfermline.

READ MORE: Swinney: PM's D-day dodge was a 'breathtakingly terrible decision'

During the campaign stop, Mr Swinney was also asked about TV debates. 

He said: “I think some of the argy bargy turns the public off – I don’t particularly enjoy it.

“I watched the [ITV leaders'] debate on Tuesday night, I didn’t particularly enjoy it.

“I thought it was pretty confrontational and unenlightening.

“And, as I’ve said, it disguises the real issues about the public spending crisis.

“So you can have all these political leaders arguing away, but the public have got to engage on the substance.”

The substance of his campaign, the First Minister said, was that a vote for Labour will be for “Tory spending cuts”.

Addressing SNP activists, Mr Swinney said a Conservative or Labour government could result in “significant public spending cuts.”

He said Labour's choice to follow the same tight fiscal rules to bring down public debt as the Tories, meant they had “signed itself up to a Conservative outlook on public expenditure which is going to do significant damage to the public services of our country”.