Why is there a row about the SNP's £667,000 independence fund?
Getty ImagesPolice Scotland says it is not launching a fresh investigation into claims about a £667,000 fund raised by the SNP for an independence referendum campaign.
Independence activist Sean Clerkin reported the party to police, accusing it of "misusing" the cash by spending it on "general" campaigning, the Scottish Sun reported.
It came after First Minister John Swinney confirmed the fund had been used for the SNP's "ongoing activity", insisting it had been spent on "independence objectives".
Concerns about the money sparked the police investigation that led to former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell - Nicola Sturgeon's estranged husband - admitting to embezzling more than £400,000 from the party.
In response to Clerkin's fresh complaint, a spokesperson for Police Scotland said the independence fund had already been investigated as part of the Murrell probe, and that no further action would be taken as it stood.
It was the latest twist in a long and complex row about the SNP's finances.
Why were there concerns about the £667,000?
The SNP collected £667,000 of donations in two online fundraisers after Sturgeon announced plans for a second referendum in March 2017, in response to the Brexit referendum.
The first, called ScotRef, raised almost £500,000 of a £1m target before it was shut down in June 2017 after a disappointing general election result for the SNP. The website encouraged supporters to sign a pledge "to support Scotland's referendum".
The second website, "yes.scot", was launched after Boris Johnson's general election victory in 2019 and took the fund to almost £667,000.
The party insisted in June 2017 that the money was "ring-fenced" for a referendum campaign.
However, the SNP faced claims in 2020 that the cash had gone missing after the 2019 accounts showed a balance of £97,000 in the bank and net assets of £272,000.
Activists speculated that instead of being used on a referendum campaign, the funds had been used for other purposes, such as the 2017 general election.
What did the party say?
Questions mounted between March and May 2021, when three members of the SNP's finance committee and treasurer Douglas Chapman resigned after being refused access to the financial information.
Ruling body member Joanna Cherry quit the following month, citing a lack of transparency.
At the time Swinney - then deputy first minister to Sturgeon - told the BBC that there was a "huge amount of scrutiny of party finances".
A leaked video from a private meeting of the SNP's ruling body in March 2021 showed Sturgeon telling members that the party "had never been in a stronger financial position".
In June 2021, Sturgeon denied that the money had "gone missing", insisting "every penny" would be used on a referendum campaign.
Then SNP treasurer Colin Beattie publicly acknowledged that summer that the money had been used for other purposes, but insisted "amounts equivalent to the sums raised will be spent for the intended purpose".
The party explained that the funds were not kept in a separate bank account, but had been "earmarked" to ensure the total sum would pay for a referendum campaign.
The SNP's latest accounts, for 2024, recorded a deficit of £455,254, down from a surplus of £661,568 in 2023.
What was the first police complaint about?
Concerns about the party's finances prompted reports to police, including from Sean Clerkin in 2021. He said he was seeking answers about how the independence fund had been used.
In July 2021, Police Scotland formally launched Operation Branchform, an investigation looking into the SNP's finances.
While the probe was launched into concerns about the independence funds, it ultimately focused on Murrell's embezzlement.
The former chief executive, Sturgeon's estranged husband, has admitted to using party funds to make more than 1,000 purchases, including cars, a motorhome, a robotic lawnmower, Montblanc pens and cosmetics.
As Murrell prepares to be sentenced, questions remain about the independence fund.
Was the money used to repay a £1m loan?
Wings Over Scotland blogger Stuart Campbell, whose concerns about the 2019 accounts sparked the initial complaints, has speculated that the independence funds were used for general election campaigning and to repay a £1m loan from Eurolottery winners Colin and Chris Weir.
The SNP did not respond when asked to comment on these claims.
Looking back on Sturgeon's response to concerns raised in 2021, she told the BBC: "The issue that was being looked into was whether the £600,000 that had been raised to fund a second independence referendum had been used for election campaigning.
"And my comments were saying that the £600,000, although it didn't sit in a separate bank account, was there and realisable for a referendum campaign when that happened."
She denied that that the money had been raised on "false pretences".
Pressed on Wednesday how the £667,000 had been used, Swinney said it was part of the SNP's resources "to support its independence objectives".
Asked if all of the money had been spent, he told Bauer Media: "I'm saying it's part of the ongoing activities of the Scottish National Party.
"We're the party that campaigns for independence. We just fought an election campaign in which we had a very, very strong anchoring of our campaign for independence.
"If that's not the use of the resources then I'm not sure I understand what the resources are for."
SNP deputy leader Keith Brown told BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast that police had "forensically examined" the independence fund.
He added: "And the party has been absolutely clear that the money that it raises will be used in pursuit of independence, and in the interim the pursuit of a question of a referendum, Scotland's right to have a referendum on independence."
Why the fresh police complaint?
Swinney's most recent comments have fuelled accusations that the SNP has spent the money - and not specifically on a campaign for an independence campaign.
Clerkin claims the party raised the funds "for one thing and using it for another".
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: "SNP members and supporters donated their hard-earned money believing it would be used for a future referendum campaign."
She added: "People will rightly ask whether they were misled. They will rightly ask why the SNP continues to resist scrutiny."
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay described Swinney's comments about the independence fund as "damning" and said they "surely destroy any residual trust" in the SNP.
However, a Police Scotland spokesperson confirmed that Clerkin had been told "that the information provided had already been investigated as part of our inquiries and no further action will be taken at this time".
They added that "should any new information be received this will be assessed".
