A former SNP chief spin doctor has compared the party's cash probe to the botched Rangers prosecution.
Nicola Sturgeon’s ex head of communications Murray Foote said the investigation had become a "grotesque circus".
Speaking with The Daily Record, the former media chief - who resigned over the SNP membership scandal - warned of "serious consequences" if police investigation turns out to be baseless.
He said: “The fallout would have serious consequences for the investigating authorities.
“Given the grim spectacle at the house Peter Murrell shares with Nicola Sturgeon and at the party HQ, it’s inconceivable the authorities would be so cavalier without slam dunk evidence, right?
“Not necessarily. One word counters that assumption: Rangers.”
Murray Foote
The investigation into the Rangers takeover as found to be a ‘malicious prosecution’ by the Crown Office, which has still not been fully resolved.
So far, more than £51million of taxpayer’s cash has been paid out to those wrongly arrested during the investigation into the financial collapse of Rangers.
READ MORE: SNP treasurer Colin Beattie - 'I didn't know about £110,000 motorhome'
Mr Foote added: “So, the authorities have previous for high-profile inquiries collapsing in scandal.
“If they have spectacularly misjudged this one too, then the reputational cost will be far more substantial than the cash spent on manpower.”
Save on a full year of digital access with our lowest EVER offer.
Subscribe for the whole year to The Herald for only £24 for unlimited website access or £30 for our digital pack.
This is only available for a limited time so don't miss out.
The SNP has been gripped by the fraud probe, named Operation Branchform, which has Police Scotland investigating whether there was any criminality linked to the spending of around £500,000 of cash raised for an IndyRef2 campaign.
Nicola Sturgeon
Mr Foote criticised the extent of the raid on Ms Sturgeon's home, saying: “The use of forensic tents and a whole platoon of plod at the house turned a routine process into a grotesque circus, compounded by the storming of SNP HQ.
“Police diligently going about their business is one thing. What happened at FM’s home is something else entirely.”
The investigation has already seen Ms Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell and former party treasurer Colin Beattie arrested and later released without charge.
READ MORE: Alba urge people to demand and pass on Indyref2 refunds from SNP
Last month it emerged officers who raided Ms Sturgeon's home were looking into designer pens, burner phones and a fridge freezer.
A luxury £110k motorhome which was to be used as a party battle bus was also seized, which current First Minister Humza Yousaf said he wasn't aware of until he became SNP leader.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel