The SNP have donated profits from the sale of their branded face masks to hospital charities after they began flogging them during the pandemic.
The move was initially branded ‘tasteless’ by the Scottish Conservatives after their plans emerged over the summer sparking claims they were ‘cashing in’ on the crisis.
The party said it made a profit of £14,215 - rounding it up to £15,000 - and has donated £5,000 to each of the three children's hospitals in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The money will help pay for Christmas presents and festive surprises on wards.
The Tories welcomed the move, but said the Nats shouldn't have needed to be "shamed" into doing it.
The SNP had initially indicated it would keep the money for itself, and only backed down after a row at Holyrood over the summer.
In July, the party's official online merchandise page began selling Chinese-made face coverings for £8 and £14 featuring tartans, saltires, SNP and Yes logos.
At the time, the nationalist party was the only major UK party to sell facemasks as official merchandise.
It prompted the Tories to write to Nicola Sturgeon's husband, the SNP chief executive Peter Murrell, asking him to immediately stop the sale of the "tasteless" masks.
The SNP defended the sale, saying that "just like football clubs and many others, we've launched our own branded face coverings".
However after a bitter exchange at First Minister's Questions in which her party was accused of cashing in on the Covid-19 pandemic, Sturgeon suddenly announced the profits would go to charity.
She said: "Every penny of profit made from my party's face masks will go to charity."
Despite the promise, the SNP last month refused to say if any profits had in fact been donated to charity, saying it would update its party conference on the numbers.
The conference came and went last week without a public announcement.
However the party today confirmed that the cash had been donated.
Douglas Chapman MP, the SNP's treasurer, said: "The First Minister made clear that all profits from our branded face coverings would go to charity, and that's what we've now done.
"We're particularly pleased to be able to help Scotland's children's hospitals spread the magic of Christmas.
"Total profits (SNP and The Business Incentives Group Limited) totalled £14,215.17 up to 30 November. We've rounded that up to £15,000.
"£5,000 has been donated to each of the Christmas appeals of Scotland's three children's hospitals in Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
"Of course, our members and supporters continue to buy SNP branded face coverings, so we'll confirm further donations over time."
The SNP's online store currently sells 22 types of Chinese-made face coverings and states: "All profits from this sale will go to charity".
It says its face masks "are not PPE, they are civilian masks and are supplied by a reputable supplier".
Scottish Tory MSP Miles Briggs said: "It is remarkable how long the SNP have taken to reveal where these profits eventually went.
"While it is welcome to see such good causes have benefited, they shouldn't have had to be shamed into action.
"They should have been upfront about their plans on where this money was going from the start."
