It is three years since Operation Branchform, a Police Scotland investigation into SNP finances, was launched.

Last week we reported that the matter had been raised in the House of Lords, with a UK Government whip saying that “UK crime enforcement agencies would be on hand to assist Police Scotland with the ongoing probe into the SNP’s finances” if requested.

👉 Read our article here

Today one of our readers, a veteran politician and campaigner for Scottish independence, airs his concerns.

Jim Sillars of Edinburgh writes:

(Image: Newsquest) "I see the possibility of the National Crime Agency and Serious Fraud Office assisting Police Scotland with its Operation Branchform was raised in the House of Lords. Really? The core group of full-time people who operate the SNP machine is small, and in commercial terms comparison is a very small company, not some complex banking or international investment group of the kind that would require the involvement of those two organisations.

"I know I am not alone in wondering why, with only three people originally taken to a police station for questioning, and the small size of the SNP management core, apparently no conclusion can be reached after three years of police investigation and references to the Crown Office.

"This extraordinary length of time hanging over the heads of people whose names are known is unfair to them, and raises questions about whether the Crown Office, as it was under James Wolffe’s leadership, continues to be unable to disentangle law from politics."

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