Scotland's major party rocked by new scandal

The treasurer of the Scottish National Party has resigned following his arrest as part of an ongoing police investigation into the finances of the party, known as the SNP.

Colin Beattie was released without charge on Tuesday in the latest of a series of scandals that have engulfed the party over the last few months, although the Police Scotland investigation dates back to July 2021.

Former SNP leader and first minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon unexpectedly resigned in February, saying what she called the "brutality" of life as a politician "takes its toll on you and on those around you", and that "in my head and in my heart" she felt it was time to pursue a new career.

But since then, the SNP has suffered a barrage of negative publicity, including its former chief executive, Sturgeon's husband Peter Murrell, also being arrested then released without charge, pending further inquiries.

The arrest of Beattie took place on the day the party's new leader, Humza Yousaf, planned to set out his devolved government's priorities for the next three years, but unsurprisingly this was totally overshadowed.

"On a personal level, this decision has not been easy, but it is the right decision to avoid further distraction to the important work being led by Humza Yousaf to improve the SNP's governance and transparency," said a resignation statement issued by Beattie. "I will continue to cooperate fully with Police Scotland's enquiries and it would be inappropriate for me to comment any further on a live case."

The devolved Scottish Parliament was opened in 1999, and for the last 13 years, the SNP has been in power, currently with a minority government, holding 64 out of the 129 seats available. It also holds 45 of the 59 Scottish seats in the Westminster Parliament.

In 2014, a referendum on Scottish independence was rejected by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent, but the SNP has argued passionately for another vote to be held, with the outcome of the Brexit vote, where the majority of Scots voted to remain in the European Union, but were taken out by the wider vote across the whole of the United Kingdom, a particular motivating factor.

The BBC reports that between 2017 and 2020, financial appeals relating to a second referendum campaign brought in 666,953 pounds ($829,307). But at the end of 2019, it was revealed that the party had just 97,000 pounds in the bank, and net assets of around 272,000 pounds.

Police have searched Sturgeon and Murrell's home, and the SNP headquarters in Edinburgh, and the Daily Mail newspaper reported that, as part of their inquiries, officers had also seized a luxury motorhome that had been parked outside the home of Murrell's 92-year-old mother for more than two years.

The former leader of the SNP in Westminster, Ian Blackford, has claimed that party finances are in "robust health", but the Sunday Times newspaper reported that last week, he told members of the party's national executive committee that it was struggling financially because of falling membership numbers.