Achi news desk-
The warning was made in an email to Mr Murrell by the secretary of the party branch who went on months later to make a complaint to the police after he considered that his questions had not been satisfactorily answered.
In the email, given to The Herald, and dated November 2, 2020, the branch secretary, who does not wish to be named publicly, warned of significant damage to the party due to growing grassroots discontent in the way it was run.
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One key aspect that led to internal tensions was a rule change made by the party’s national executive committee which was widely seen as a way to prevent Edinburgh South West MP Joanna Cherry from standing as a candidate in the 2021 Holyrood elections.
The change meant that MPs who wanted to be elected to Holyrood would have to give up their seat in Westminster before standing.
The reform meant that while the party’s MPs could switch between Westminster and Holyrood, the MP would face the risk of finding himself without a seat. Former MP Neil Gray took the risk and was elected as an SNP MLA in 2021.
“I would like to reach out to you in the hope that a positive way forward can be agreed, before the membership turns on the party. I believe that is about to happen,” wrote the senior campaigner.
“Many people from all over the country have contacted me… most of their joys and failures of the party [relates to ]what has happened at the NEC.”
He added: “I don’t want to see the party damaged and I want to see the current situation changed. I am aware that others are about to go public about some issues and this will be explosive and very damaging However, this can be stopped if it is seen that things are being corrected.
“I fear that the reduction in party membership will accelerate if the ‘transparency’ decision is not allowed to be discussed. It is not a good look for a democratic party to be seen preventing its membership from having any say in its operations and it will cost.” for us more members.
“I think the First Minister has performed very well and she has broad support and that, I believe, is now at risk due to the actions of others. So I would like to propose an alternative route which avoids further membership losses, lost revenue and fixes some of the problems.
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“I am aware of the party’s financial situation as I am sure you are too and that it is likely to get worse… I fear that things are becoming unmanageable and that events will overtake the party in soon.”
Last night the complainant, who is no longer in the SNP, told The Herald that he feared much of what the party warned about in November 2020 was now unfolding. He added that he had given the email and other documents to the police.
The motion which called for a conference debate for more transparency was not heard at the party’s annual conference held remotely between November 28 and 30.
Mr Murrell was arrested on April 5 last year as part of the long-running Operation Branchform investigation by Police Scotland. He was later released without charge pending further enquiries.
His wife, former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, and the party’s national treasurer at the time Colin Beattie were arrested in June and April last year and also released without charge pending further enquiries. She later posted on social media that she was “innocent of any wrongdoing”.
On the day of his arrest, police officers also carried out a high-profile search of his and Ms Sturgeon’s home near Glasgow, including erecting a forensic tent in the front garden.
At the same time, another team of officers searched the SNP headquarters in Edinburgh. A luxury camper van was removed by police on the same day from outside Mr Murrell’s mother’s home in Dunfermline.
Speaking last week, ahead of the first anniversary of Mr Murrell’s arrest, First Minister Humza Yousaf said the SNP would welcome a “conclusion” to Operation Branchform, but that it was up to Police Scotland to “take as much time as possible they need it in order to investigate thoroughly.”
A Police Scotland investigation was launched in July 2021 after a number of complaints that £660,000 raised specifically by the party for a second independence referendum campaign had been spent on other items.
Asked if he was frustrated by the length of time the inquiry was taking, Mr Yousaf told the BBC last week: “Well, I think people will realize that all of us in the SNP would like to see an outcome to Operation Branchform.
“I think that states the obvious but, of course, it is up to Police Scotland to decide how long that takes and for them to have space and time to investigate thoroughly, and I not intending to interfere with that. It is up to Police Scotland to take as much time as they need to investigate thoroughly.”
Mr Yousaf told journalists at Bute House on April 6 last year that it was “very, very clear that the governance of the party was not as it should be” revealing that he had launched a review of the governance and transparency of the SNP.
The Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service have not received a standard prosecution report on Operation Branchform from Police Scotland.
A spokesman for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said: “Senior professional prosecutors from COPFS and a Deputy Advocate are working with the police on this ongoing investigation.
“It is standard practice that any case involving politicians is handled by prosecutors without the involvement of Law Officers. All Scottish prosecutors operate independently of political interference.
“As usual, in order to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations, we do not comment in detail on their conduct.”
A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “As the investigation is ongoing we are unable to comment.”
A spokesman for the SNP said: “The SNP has been co-operating fully with the police investigation and will continue to do so, but it is not appropriate to comment further while that investigation is ongoing .”
On the governance review ordered by Mr Yousaf, the party’s spokesperson added: “The SNP has already adopted a number of key recommendations from the governance review while others would require a constitutional change before they can be enacted.”
