LONDON – The treasurer of the Scottish National Party was arrested Tuesday, police said, in a party finance probe that previously saw its executive director — the husband of former Scottish first minister and party leader Nicola Sturgeon — taken into custody.
Colin Beattie, 71, was arrested two weeks after the SNP's former former longtime executive, Peter Murrell, was questioned for nearly 11 hours before being released without charges.
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Police at the time said the investigation would continue and officers returned to Murrell and Sturgeon's house in Glasgow the following day to continue their search for evidence.
Scottish police have been investigating how 600,000 pounds ($745,000) designated for a Scottish independence campaign was spent.
The arrests followed Strurgeon's abrupt resignation earlier this year after eight years as party leader and first minister of Scotland’s semi-autonomous government. She said that it was the right time for her, her party and her country to make way for someone else.
Sturgeon has made limited public remarks following her husband's arrest, telling reporters outside their home on Easter weekend that the previous few days had been “obviously difficult, quite traumatic at times.” She said she would cooperate fully with police but hadn't been questioned at that point.
Murrell resigned March 18 from the position he had held more than 20 years. He was forced to admit that the party's membership had plunged from more than 100,000 to just over 70,000 in the past year. He accepted responsibility but said there had been no intent to mislead.
Since Murrell's arrest, news reports revealed that the party's auditors quit last year.
Beattie is also a member of the Scottish Parliament, serving Midlothian North and Musselburgh.