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SNP MSP Colin Beattie will step down as party treasurer after he was arrested in connection with a police investigation into party finances, he said. In a statement issued by the party, Mr Beattie also confirmed that he will "retire" from his post on Holyrood's public audit committee until the investigation is complete. Prime Minister Humza Yousaf said the position would be filled "as soon as possible".
Mr Beattie said: “I informed the party leader this afternoon that I would be stepping down as National Treasurer of the SNP with immediate effect.
This decision was not an easy one, but it is the right decision not to further divert attention from the important work done by Humza Yousaf to improve the governance and transparency of the SNP.
“I have also informed SNP Chief Whip in Holyrood that I will be leaving my position on the Public Audit Committee until the police investigation is complete.
“On a personal level, this decision has not been easy, but it is the right decision not to further divert attention from the important work that Humza Yousaf is doing to improve the governance and transparency of the SNP.
"I will continue to fully cooperate with Police Scotland investigations and it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on an ongoing matter."
Beattie was arrested Tuesday before being released later without charge "pending further investigation."
It is also part of the Public Audit Commission of Scotland, a body that oversees watchdog Audit Scotland and, among other responsibilities, is responsible for "appointing a qualified person to audit Audit Scotland's accounts".
It is understood that a decision on their membership in the organization will be made closer to their next meeting.
Yousaf thanked the former treasurer when he announced Beattie's resignation, saying on Twitter: "I know your decision to step down as SNP national treasurer will not have been an easy one, but you did so in the best interest of the party."
"A new treasurer will be appointed as soon as possible."
Scottish Labor deputy leader Jackie Baillie says the decision to step down as treasurer was the right one but "made by the wrong person", accusing the SNP leader of "buying time".
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton has said the treasurer post will be the "least attractive" job in Scottish politics.
It comes hours after Deputy Prime Minister Shona Robison said it was "frustrating" that the SNP controversy overshadowed Prime Minister Yousaf's first major parliamentary speech when he urged the party to put its "house" in order.
Mr Beattie's arrest came on the same day that the First Minister purported to offer a "fresh start" by outlining the Scottish Government's priorities for the next three years.
Mr. Yousaf also confirmed the delays in setting up the national helpdesk and the deposit return system.
Alors that the police écossaise enquêtait sur la façon dont plus £600,000 from dons SNP destinés à la campagne pour l'indépendance ont été dépensés, Mme Robison has declared qu'elle espérait that the gouvernement pourrait will concentrate on the questions qui comptent pour the public.
During a visit to Dear Green Coffee Roasters in Glasgow on Wednesday, he said: "Of course it's frustrating that we can't talk as much as we'd like to about the priorities that were set out in the prospectus yesterday, and I think the households and people who today they struggle with the inflation numbers, they struggle with the cost of things… they will want to know what we are doing as a government.
"While the public expects the SNP to get their own house in order, they also expect us as a government to help their households cope with cost-of-living pressures."
Earlier this month, former party chief executive Peter Murrell was arrested and questioned for more than 11 hours before being released pending further investigation.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland program earlier on Wednesday, Robison said decisive action is "absolutely critical" and that future party governance must be "absolutely a matter of transparency and openness".
He declined to say whether former Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon could be arrested, but said he did not know if the former chief had spoken to police.
Ms Robison said: "We have to wait for the facts to be established, either through the ongoing police investigation and of course the party management review, and that's very, very important, not just to reassure party members". , but it's important that the public expect us to get our own house in order, as we focus as a government on supporting their households through the cost of living crisis.
Meanwhile, defeated SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes told BBC Radio 4 that the claims about party finances had been "impressive" and that "swift and decisive action" was needed, otherwise the SNP would be in trouble, a sentiment the deputy prime minister agreed with. .
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