THE SNP have called for Keir Starmer to "order a full and immediate inquiry” into the allegations that his top aide broke the law by hiding £700,000 in donations.
The Tories released a leaked email from a lawyer to Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney in response to the election watchdog investigating the failure to report donations to the Labour Together organisation he was previously in charge of.
The organisation was fined by the Electoral Commission (EC) over its handling of donations in 2021, but the Tories claimed the leaked email suggested McSweeney had sought to mislead the watchdog.
Now, SNP deputy Westminster leader Pete Wishart has called for the Prime Minister to personally "come clean" over the support he received from Labour Together and what he knew about the allegations.
The EC found a series of breaches by the group over almost £740,000 in donations and hit it with a £14,250 fine in September 2021.
McSweeney had left his role in April 2020 to become a senior aide to Starmer in opposition and then in government.
"Keir Starmer must order a full and immediate inquiry into the bombshell allegations that his top aide broke the law by hiding £700,000 in donations from the authorities - money that was secretly used to help install Starmer as Labour Party leader,” Wishart said.
"The Prime Minister must also come clean over his own role in the Labour Party dodgy donations scandal - detailing the support he received, why he didn't declare it himself, and when he knew about the serious allegations surrounding his most senior adviser.
"Voters were promised change but, under Keir Starmer, the Labour government has been engulfed in one scandal after another and broken Brexit Britain has got even worse. The cost of living is soaring, unemployment is at a four-year high, the UK economy has been downgraded, public finances have deteriorated - and hard-pressed families are struggling to get by.
"It's why Scotland needs a fresh start with independence - so we can escape the constant crisis of Westminster control and build a better future for people in Scotland."
Pat McFadden, meanwhile, defended McSweeney amid the donations row.
The Work and Pensions Secretary, who worked closely with McSweeney on Labour’s election strategy in the run-up to the 2024 landslide win, said he had full confidence in the No 10 chief of staff.
He told LBC Radio: “I’m not surprised that people opposed to Morgan McSweeney are attacking him because he’s a very talented man.
“I worked closely with him in the general election that we fought last year and I think when opponents attack you like that, it’s because they know you’re a talented person.”
