First Minister Nicola Sturgeon walked away from questions over why her husband loaned the SNP over £100,000.
She twice said SNP chief executive Peter Murrell had made a “personal contribution” before quickly walking up the stairs to her office. According to the Electoral Commission, the £107,620 loan was made on June 20th last year.
Nearly £50,000 has been paid back, with £60,000 remaining outstanding, and opposition parties at Holyrood have demanded answers.
Asked about the loan by reporters after First Minister’s Questions, she said: “Look, he made a personal contribution as a supporter of the party and that is the position.”
She then left the media scrum before walking into a lift and leaving it again. She repeated her answer about a “personal contribution” before heading for the stairs.
Following the revelation Labour MSP Neil Bibby called for transparency, he said: “This is highly irregular and the First Minister’s part if any in providing these secret loans needs further investigation.
“The saga surrounding the SNP’s finances just keeps getting murkier, from the questions around the notorious £600k to the unexplained resignation of the party’s finance committee.
“The SNP operate under a veil of secrecy and cover-up by default, but the public deserve transparency about the dealings going on in the party of government.”
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