The SNP has been urged to sort out its vetting procedures to ensure its future parliamentarians aren’t a source of embarrassment for Scottish politics.
It emerged today that the party knew for weeks that Glasgow East MP Natalie McGarry was at the centre of a missing cash scandal with campaign group Women for Independence.
That followed revelations that police were also investigating fellow nationalist MP Michelle Thomson, who resigned the whip following questions about a series of property deals.
The Scottish Conservatives have now called for SNP leadership to ensure its vetting process is reviewed to avoid future problems.
Ms McGarry is the third high-profile SNP politician to be involved with police in recent times, after Ms Thomson earlier this year and ex-MSP Bill Walker, who was jailed for domestic abuse in 2013.
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said:
“There have now been three SNP parliamentarians who’ve been at the centre of police investigations in recent times.
“And now we discover the party hierarchy knew about the concerns over Natalie McGarry’s involvement in this latest incident for weeks before it emerged.
“Of course, the party also claimed it knew nothing about Michelle Thomson, or indeed Bill Walker, before it was brought to light in the media.
“These three episodes have exposed SNP vetting procedures for its parliamentarians as shambolic and inadequate. The clear responsibility for this lies with the leadership of the SNP.
“It’s time the SNP leadership acted to restore the damaged reputation of their party by cleaning the stables rather than feigning ignorance and then dithering in the state rooms of Bute House as damaging information unravels through the media.”