John Swinney admits Peter Murrell scandal is STILL hurting the SNP

John Swinney has admitted that the SNP is still ‘injured’ by the Peter Murrell scandal. The First Minister conceded that the police probe into the former chief executive’s £400,000 embezzlement case is still having an impact on the party. But he also claimed that his personal leadership is helping the SNP through the trauma of the situation. His comments came in interviews ahead of the SNP conference, which will get underway in Aberdeen on Thursday. He also unveiled plans for a £100,000 ‘hearts and minds’ campaign about independence in a bid to boost support, and revealed he is ‘thinking about’ a proposal from former First Minister Humza Yousaf to demand that a third party such as a United Nations agency is drafted in to decide the trigger for an independence referendum. Asked about his previous description of the Operation Branchform probe as a ‘hugely damaging and traumatic experience’ for his party, Mr Swinney said: ‘I’ve addressed that trauma very directly with the party membership and I’ve done that in a number of ways. We’ve had some very open dialogue within the party about these questions.’ He added: ‘Members of the party, they know me well, they know what I expect, they can see the results of that, because I promised them good governance and they’re getting that. ‘I promised them an election-winning machine, they’ve just seen that in action. ‘I think the party, although injured by all of what’s happened, has also had my reassuring leadership to help it through that.’ John Swinney conceded that the police probe into Peter Murrell is still having an impact on the party Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee published the ‘terms of reference’ for its probe into financial regulation of political parties in Scotland, which was announced in the wake of the Murrell scandal after Holyrood committees refused to launch an inquiry. It will include internal governance, financial and control arrangements and whether they are sufficient to ensure proper financial conduct, as well as an assessment of oversight mechanisms. The probe will also assess whether current arrangements for whistleblowing, reporting concerns and organisational accountability within political parties is sufficient, and also look at the audit process and what mechanisms are in place for financial concerns to be raised with other bodies. The terms of reference will allow for a close examination of the fallout from the Murrell scandal, with some MPs on the committee keen to ensure both Nicola Sturgeon and her estranged husband are called to give evidence. Among the many items stolen by the former chief executive using party funds was an elite motorhome valued at over £120,000. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: ‘John Swinney can stop the self-pity because any “injury” suffered by the SNP is entirely self-inflicted. ‘That’s because Peter Murrell was protected and enabled by Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon who shut down valid concerns. Peter Murrell was jailed for five years and three months back in June ‘I’m more interested in the Commons inquiry finding out why Murrell’s guilty plea was delayed until after the election.’ Mr Swinney also announced that the SNP will launch a ‘Choose Scotland’ campaign at the party’s conference, which is described as the biggest pro-independence campaign since the 2014 referendum. It will be ‘anchored’ by a new pro-independence party political broadcast, while an independence survey will be sent to nearly 1.5 million people. Mr Swinney said: ‘We will be inviting people in Scotland to choose a better future, where we make our own decisions; to choose using our energy wealth to bring down bills; to choose re-joining the EU in our own right; to choose a future where our pensioners aren’t short-changed to pay for personal care in England; and all of that comes with choosing the fresh start of independence.’ He also said Mr Yousaf made ‘interesting points’ when he demanded a third party to decide the trigger point for another separation vote, and added: ‘I think it’s an interesting and substantial proposition, so it will be something that I’ll be thinking about.’ Former SNP MP Stewart McDonald previously described Mr Yousaf’s proposal as an ‘absurd proposition’ that both pro-Union and pro-independence camps ‘can rightly repudiate’. Meanwhile, a Survation poll of general election voting intentions commissioned by the SNP put Mr Swinney’s party on 34 per cent, well ahead of Labour on 20 per cent, Reform UK on 18 per cent, Conservatives on 12 per cent, Liberal Democrats on 8 per cent, and the Greens on 6 per cent (others 3 per cent). It also put support for independence at 52 per cent. Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth said: ‘As we head into SNP conference this weekend, we do so with independence once again in the lead and the SNP on course for an emphatic win at the Westminster election.’